Mark Webber grabbed with both hands the opportunity to make his name in Formula One at Minardi this year.

You do not get many chances to make an impact with Minardi – and Webber’s came in his very first race, at home in Australia.

Thanks to the retirements of other cars, this intelligent and likeable man found himself in fifth place.

The pressure must have been enormous, but he never buckled, not even when the vastly more experienced Mika Salo came up behind him in his Toyota.

It was Salo who made a mistake, and Webber hung on for two priceless points.

He continued to make a strong impression throughout the year.

Webber often had the Minardi up ahead of at least one of the Jaguars, and he was the only driver all year never to be outqualified by his team-mate – although given Webber’s was Alex Yoong it would probably have destroyed his reputation instantly had it happened.

As it was, Webber did more than enough in 2002 to prove that he has a promising future in F1.

And with a Jaguar drive for 2003, he has the chance to move on to the next level.