Webber finds Red Bull a tight fit

Australian Formula One driver Mark Webber hopes a new seat will take away the pain of testing for Red Bull.

The 30-year-old, who joined from Williams at the end of last season, has been struggling to fit comfortably in the team's new Renault-powered RB3 car in pre-season tests at Spanish circuits.

"I would definitely like to be more comfortable. I would not have liked to race the way the seat was," Webber told Melbourne's Herald Sun newspaper before a test in Bahrain yesterday.

"It seems a lot better now. We've done a new seat and flattened things to get me into the car better. We're trying to get me comfortable. The car is pretty tight in places."

The Australian, a health fanatic regarded as one of the fittest drivers in Formula One, is 1.84 metres tall in a sport where millimetres make all the difference.

The RB3 is the first car created for the team by former McLaren designer Adrian Newey, whose previous cars have also been tight fits for tall drivers like Webber.

Webber said the speed of the new car was also a concern, with the first race looming in Melbourne on March 18, and Newey had designed new aero parts after complaints from him and team-mate David Coulthard.