Webber delighted by fitness boost

Webber broke his leg in a cycling accident in Australia at the end of last year

Mark Webber believes his improving fitness levels can boost his tilt at this season's Formula 1 drivers' title.

The Australian clinched his first Grand Prix win in Germany last weekend after having metal pins removed from the leg he broke in a cycling accident in 2008.

"I don't think it's entirely a coincidence that my win came on the back of me having had a couple of screws taken out," he told BBC Sport.

"It's great to feel the leg getting better race by race."

The Red Bull driver is third in the standings with 45.5 points after his victory at the Nurburgring, with team-mate Sebatien Vettel second on 47 and Brawn GP's Jenson Button leading with 68.

Webber, 32, admitted his leg was "a long way from healed" when the season started.

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"I think I was kidding myself a bit," he said. "It was just the metal holding it in place, so it has come a long way since then.

"I guess I was a bit under-cooked in the early part of the season, but we're out the other side now."

Webber will have four weeks in which to regain full fitness between the Hungarian Grand Prix on 26 July and the European GP in Valencia on 23 August.

He will have further surgery at the end of the season - not between the Budapest and Valencia races as some reports in Germany claimed - to have a titanium rod removed from his left leg.