Webber wins hearts and minds.

Mark Webber won the hearts and minds of Formula One this afternoon at Malaysia, when the likeable Aussie - now almost universally tipped as a future star - turned heads by delivering a front row start for the Jaguar team.

Webber brought his R5 over the line 0.641secs behind the untouchable Michael Schumacher, putting him top Michelin runner and a fraction clear of Rubens Barrichello as he put 'British racing green' confidently between 'Ferrari red'.

"Absolutely not!" admitted Mark when asked afterwards if he'd expected a front row. "We are very, very surprised - but pleasantly surprised. The car was working very well yesterday... and today we just stayed cool and waited for qualifying to come to us and I was very happy with the lap.

"My engineer said 'very, very good job' (over the radio) when I crossed the line," he added. "I was looking at the big screen anyway to see if I'd just got Rubens because I knew it was going to be close. I didn't know if it was second or first and I was very happy to see it was number one at the time. It's good to see some other people making some mistakes and it's quite tough with this guy (Michael Schumacher) but I'm happy to get second."

Significantly, Webber's performance was later highlighted by BMW motorsport director Mario Theissen, engine partner to the WilliamsF1 team, which is believed to be seriously considering the Australian for a race seat next season.

"The performance of Mark Webber is definitely worthy of praise," he said.

Meanwhile, Mark has his sights set on converting the stellar grid position into a solid points' finish, especially after suffering a DNF in Melbourne.

"We need to finish the race, which we didn't do in Australia." he stated. "I know that we will all be giving it our best shot tomorrow and I'll be fighting for points every step of the way. It's going to be a tough afternoon for all of us out there but I am so excited that I can't wait!"

"We are in an extremely good starting position for tomorrow's race and I am looking forward to a good day," added Dr Mark Gillan, head of vehicle performance at Jaguar. "It's going to be exciting for all of us and we will be hoping for a good points finish as just reward."

Webber's rookie team-mate Christian Klien finished the session in 13th place, 1.3secs behind the Australian.