But Queanbeyan's Mark Webber simply puts his third career win in the global motorsport competition down to the way he navigated a tricky first up corner.

``The run down to the first corner at Barcelona is the longest on the calendar and both [teammate] Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton had a look but I was able to defend my position and maintain my advantage,'' he said.

``With the way racing has become these days with very little opportunity for overtaking, the first 500 metres of any race has become crucial.''

Webber's win in Spain means he now sits fourth in the drivers' championship but it came after a slow start to the year where he picked up eighth in both Bahrain and China and ninth in Melbourne.

``I knew that one good result would catapult me up the championship order and I also knew a win wasn't far off because I've been showing good pace but not quite executing clean weekends with Malaysia [second place] the exception,'' he said.

``So I wasn't panicking and feeling as though I needed to get any monkeys off my back this year.

``Still, it's nice to open my account early in the championship.

``I'm right in the mix now at the front and of course I want to stay in contention for the championship race.''

Webber is now in Monaco preparing for Sunday's Grand Prix.

Surprisingly, after his massive 24-second win at Barcelona, Webber is coy about his chances.

``I don't think we'll see the same level of domination [from my Red Bull team] at Monaco because it's a very different kettle of fish,'' he said.

``At Barcelona good aerodynamic grip is the key but at Monaco, which is tight and twisty, good mechanical grip is needed.

``It hasn't been a happy hunting ground for Red Bull in recent years but the team is confident that RB6 is a car that can perform well on all tracks.

``And of course at Monaco you're always racing inches away from the unforgiving barriers which are waiting there to suck you in even with the slightest mistake.

``So precision is very important here.''