Sydney saw the first Formula One car in action ahead of next weekend’s Formula 1 Foster’s Australian Grand Prix when Mark Webber drove his BMW Williams F1 car across Sydney Harbour Bridge early this morning.
Webber, from Queanbeyan, near Canberra, crossed the bridge at 8am this morning, local time, with the event broadcast live on Network Ten and beamed around the world.
New South Wales Premier Bob Carr flagged off the Aussie F1 star on the bridge, who then roared across, spun around at the end of a rather bumpy ride, and completed the return journey a dozen times. After the event was over, Mark spoke briefly to the press before moving on to make a public appearance at the Hickson Road Reserve, Dawes Point, The Rocks.
There was no public access on the bridge for the Overdrive, but a superscreen as set up at the Hickson Road Reserve so fans could see and hear the spectacle.
"To drive across the bridge was pretty eerie obviously, having it shut off," Webber said. "It was incredible to drive the car across there. Actually I was quite nervous, I just wanted to make sure it all went well and it did. The car ran well.Thundering with 900 bhp over that time-honoured structure was an amazing feeling. The engine sound over the ocean was fantastic. I just can’t thank everybody enough in my home state New South Wales who made this show for the fans possible."
Webber’s next appearance in his F1 car will be at practice for the 2005 Formula 1 Foster’s Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne’s Albert Park on Friday, March 4, ahead of the race on Sunday afternoon but before then he plans to take a couple of days to rest, arriving in Melbourne on Wednesday for a dinner appearance.
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