MAY 31, 1999
Governments backing young racers
The Australian authorities are also pushes very hard to get an F1 drive for rising star Mark Webber, who is currently racing for Mercedes in sportscars.
Webber, who is also 22, recently met with Bernie Ecclestone in the hope that the F1 boss will help him find a test drive in F1 later this year to get him mileage in the current F1 cars. Australian Grand Prix Corporation boss Ron Walker is also pushing hard for Webber, as he believes that an Australian driver will add greatly to Australian interest in F1.
Walker is aiming to raise the money to get Webber on the grid in Melbourne next year and may get some money from the Victorian state government to help that happen.