British Grand Prix, Silverstone, 9-11 July
Coverage: Live on BBC One, Red Button, BBC Sport website, Radio 5 live and mobile phones; text commentary each day online Full details here
Qualifying: Saturday from 1210 BST Race: Sunday from 1210 BST

By Matt Slater

Red Bull's Mark Webber is hoping to boost his Formula 1 title hopes with a maiden British Grand Prix victory at Silverstone next weekend.

The Australian, who says the circuit is British motor racing's equivalent of fabled cricket ground Lord's, is fourth in the drivers' standings.

"I like Silverstone a lot and I do fancy my chances," he told BBC Sport.

He still believes he can win the title, adding "we're pushing very hard to get every point we can in every race".

Webber, who is 24 points behind championship leader Lewis Hamilton, goes into the race on the back of a spectacular crash in his last outing.

The 33-year-old's Red Bull somersaulted at 190mph before skidding into the barriers having run into the back of Heikki Kovalainen's Lotus at the European Grand Prix, but Webber said he is keen to return to action.

Webber flips out of European Grand Prix

"I'm looking forward to getting back on the horse after a non-finish in Valencia," he said.

"Silverstone's been a good track to me in the past, I've won there in most categories, except Formula 1, so I'm looking forward to trying to add a Formula 1 victory to my other victories there.

"There's a lot of history too with Silverstone and the people are very knowledgeable," added Webber, who moved to Britain in the mid-nineties.

"There are a lot of British teams, which is very exciting for the public, they're very proud, they get a bit parochial about which teams they support and obviously which drivers, so that's good.

"The weather can also throw up a bit of a mixture here and there but looking at the English summer this year maybe it could be a nice weekend - it is a good event.

"When I moved to Britain one of the first tracks I came to was Silverstone to go and have a look at it - it's almost like the Lord's of car racing in the UK."

Asked if he was still aiming for the world championship, the Australian replied "yes" without hesitation despite his horrifying accident in Spain.

"I did an interview before the race in Valencia with an American guy," said Webber.

"He said 'you've led the most laps, you've finished every race in the points and you've been on the front row since Bahrain' and I said 'you've done a good job to jinx me for this event' and so it turned out.

"I had a rough weekend in Valencia but the form's been good.

"OK, in Canada we finished fifth but that was a very interesting grand prix for everyone, Turkey was another podium, so it wasn't a bad weekend at all, so the signs are good to continue having some good weekends and keep fighting."

606: DEBATE The "Joker" in the pack at Silverstone will be Mark Webber RevMP

Webber, who says he still expects Ferrari's Fernando Alonso to feature in the title shake-up, reiterated that he is on good terms with team-mate Sebastian Vettel despite their accident at the Turkish Grand Prix.

Red Bull at first blamed Webber for the crash, when the majority of observers felt that Vettel bore most responsibility, but the team subsequently said their initial reaction was "a mistake" and Webber insists there is no problem in the team.

"I'm very optimistic that the future is looking good for us and the team is very settled at the moment," he said.

"Sebastian and I had a very competitive relationship last year and nothing's changed really this year. There's clearly respect both ways and we're driving the team forward.

"It's a competitive rivalry and that's how it should be."

European Grand Prix in 90 seconds

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