Mark Webber to keep his Valencia crash car

Mark Webber has no qualms about being handed team mate Sebastian Vettel's cast-off Red Bull to race in Sunday's British Grand Prix at Silverstone. 

The 33-year-old Australian wrecked his previous car in a spectacular crash in Spain on June 27 when it rammed the rear of Heikki Kovalainen's Lotus before flying high into the air and crashing to the ground upside down.

The replacement is a chassis, dubbed 'Luscious Liz', that was rejected by Vettel in May after the German complained about its handling and swapped it for ''Randy Mandy''. 

"There was nothing wrong with it. It's fine. It's all we've got anyway," Webber, who emerged unscathed from the crash other than a sore right big toe, told reporters on a visit to the team's factory in central England on Wednesday.

The Australian revealed that the car he shattered in Valencia had been given to him by the team weeks before the accident as a reward for driving it to victory in Spain and Monaco.

Rebuilt, it will be given back to him at the end of the season.

"I don't get attached to them (chassis), but clearly that one was unique," said Webber, currently fourth in the championship and 12 points behindd Vettel. "It did a great job for me.

"The boys put some messages on it because they thought it was RIP obviously, they thought it was all over," added the Australian.

"Crunch (number one mechanic Mark 'Crunch' Lenton) wrote in it `You gave me the best day of my life, and also saved my mate.' 

"The car's there to do a job and it did. it won races for me and looked after me when I needed it."                                                       

Mark Webber has no qualms about being handed team mate Sebastian Vettel's cast-off Red Bull to race in Sunday's British Grand Prix at Silverstone. 

The 33-year-old Australian wrecked his previous car in a spectacular crash in Spain on June 27 when it rammed the rear of Heikki Kovalainen's Lotus before flying high into the air and crashing to the ground upside down.

The replacement is a chassis, dubbed 'Luscious Liz', that was rejected by Vettel in May after the German complained about its handling and swapped it for ''Randy Mandy''. 

"There was nothing wrong with it. It's fine. It's all we've got anyway," Webber, who emerged unscathed from the crash other than a sore right big toe, told reporters on a visit to the team's factory in central England on Wednesday.

The Australian revealed that the car he shattered in Valencia had been given to him by the team weeks before the accident as a reward for driving it to victory in Spain and Monaco.

Rebuilt, it will be given back to him at the end of the season.

"I don't get attached to them (chassis), but clearly that one was unique," said Webber, currently fourth in the championship and 12 points behindd Vettel. "It did a great job for me.

"The boys put some messages on it because they thought it was RIP obviously, they thought it was all over," added the Australian.

"Crunch (number one mechanic Mark 'Crunch' Lenton) wrote in it `You gave me the best day of my life, and also saved my mate.' 

"The car's there to do a job and it did. it won races for me and looked after me when I needed it."                                                

Race simulator                                          

British reporters, invited to the factory to try out the Red Bull race simulator and watch the team at work in the build-up to a race, were shown Webber's Valencia car being put back together by mechanics.

In a remarkable testament to the strength and safety of modern grand prix cars, team boss Christian Horner said it had passed a test by the governing FIA on Tuesday and would be available as a spare if needed at Silverstone.

"If we have a big crash on Saturday, that will be running on Saturday," he said. "Mark is now in Luscious Liz, although I don't think he will be calling it that.

"The (Valencia) car was quite a significant car for him because it won two grands prix and also saved his life.                                     

"We can shovel up the bits and drop them in his drive but that chassis is being repaired anyway. It hasn't been retired just yet and that's the chassis that he will be given at the end of the year."

Speaking of the crash, Webber said: "I didn't even know I was upside down to be honest. That's the joy of the brain. It happened so quick."

Asked whether he would suffer any lasting pyschological effect of the accident, the rugged Australian grinned: "Find out on Friday."