In a sideways swipe at the recent wave of F1 newbies, including his own Red Bull team mate, Mark Webber has decried F1's youngsters for not being "real men", having been 'groomed' for an F1 career instead of working for their chance.
Webber, who has been particularly vocal with his opinions recently, calling the new teams for 2010 "Mickey Mouse" startups, also explained that his move into team management, with his new GP3 Series team for 2010 being run in conjunction with Red Bull boss Christian Horner, was designed to help prepare young drivers for the rigours of F1 properly.
"The cars are easier to drive," Webber moaned to the Daily Telegraph about the situation in modern F1, "You don't look at these guys and think 'they are real men'. They are talented, no question, but there is less in common.
"There is power steering now; a lot of things that make the cars easier to drive. That's why these youngsters can get away with it. I came through the categories with gear sticks and what have you. And that was beneficial for me.
"But there is no point whingeing about it. They come along and do a good job for the most part. Some don't."
He added that: "But every now and again – whether it's a Lewis [Hamilton] or a Seb [Vettel] – they can, with phenomenal grooming, come in and do a good job."
He explained that the MW Arden team, which will field three drivers in the inaugural GP3 Series season, starting in Barcelona in early May, was designed to push drivers to the limit, with Webber saying that he won't nursemaid his drivers through the category.
"I want them to learn from what I learnt along the way," Webber ranted, "Teaching them that when they get that meeting with Martin Whitmarsh, they haven't made it, because he has had every [expletive deleted] in there.
"I won't hold their hand. For me, if someone is holding a silver spoon for you the whole way through, when you get to the top someone like Fernando [Alonso] will rip you to smithereens. You have to have been in the back alleys."
Webber's reign of terror over his GP3 drivers will begin in 2010 when he runs cars for Dane Michael Christensen, who finished 4th in the Formula BMW Europe series in 2009, Spaniard Miquel Monrás, who was 5th in the 2009 Formula Renault Eurocup, and Brazilian Leonardo Cordeiro, who won the 2009 Formula Three Sudamericana championship.
Webber also told the paper that he missed his former manager Flavio Briatore's "flamboyant" character, comparing the Italian, who left the sport in disgrace last year over the Fixgate scandal and who has vowed to never return to F1 despite winning an appeal against his lifetime ban, to outspoken football manager Jose Mourinho.
"You know, we have some stale individuals in this paddock," Webber muttered, "Flavio was a character, flamboyant. You need those types in every sport. The Jose Mourinhos of this world."
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