Webber: We're off the pace

[davewilson]

Mark Webber has virtually written off his chances of any hometown heroics at this weekend's Australian Formula One Grand Prix as he battles once more with a problem car.

Webber admitted the new Red Bull RB3 was lacking speed going into the F1 season opener in Melbourne and it could be several Grands Prix before the kinks are ironed out.

The 30-year-old has already endured two horror years with an uncompetitive car at previous team Williams, with 11 failures to finish in 18 GPs last season.

Despite that, Webber led the Australian GP last year mid-race before a gearbox failure cruelled his hopes.

"The car's not as quick as we would like at the moment ... unfortunately it's going to be a bit tougher this weekend than it was last year," Webber told AAP on arrival in Melbourne.

"Last year we were very competitive in the race. Obviously blowing up in the lead was not nice but it was nice to be up there competing at the front.

"I think we're going to have trouble repeating that this year."

Webber and teammate David Coulthard struggled with the Renault-powered RB3 in pre-season testing in Bahrain last month, with the Australian admitting the car was nowhere near as fast as he and his team hoped coming to Melbourne.

While some of the early problems have been ironed out - like Webber battling to comfortably fit his taller-than-average frame into the car - others, including the aerodynamics, threaten to take far longer to fix.

"We've got some issues to sort out, so David and I are working as hard as we can to get the car to get the aerodynamics a little bit better to win some lap time back."

Williams has tested better going into this season than Red Bull, with three-time F1 world champion Jackie Stewart saying on Tuesday he believed the Australian may have erred by leaving Williams.

"I think it was a bit premature of him to write off Williams.

They've won as many world championships as any team, including Ferrari and McLaren, and they will come back," Stewart said in Sydney.

"When he left Williams, I think he may have thought he was going to Renault, and when that didn't materialise, I'm not sure going to Red Bull was a great move in comparison to staying put."

Stewart said he feared Red Bull could fall behind the chasing pack, particularly early in the season.

"In pre-season testing, Red Bull just haven't been keeping up with the rest of them, and that's even with a brand new car and probably the highest paid designer in the world (Adrian Newey).

"There's every chance that will be fixed and Mark will get the chance to show his talent, but I don't think you'll be seeing much from him in Melbourne.

"And I think, rather ironically, you're going to see a much better Williams car than last year."

Ahead of opening F1 practice on Friday, Webber hosted one of his regular pre-GP charity fund-raisers.

Webber and other drivers, including Honda's Rubens Barrichello, and several Australian sports stars took part in a tennis tournament to raise funds for Webber's charity - the Mark Webber Challenge Foundation.

Distance runner Craig Mottram, basketballer Chris Anstey and AFL stars Nathan Brown and Joel Bowden joined former tennis greats Wayne Arthurs, Jason Stoltenberg and Paul McNamee for the tournament

The Stig