For a man who has been widely criticised, Mark Webber hasn’t had a bad season whatsoever.

In the context of a team-mate who treats record with disdain the Australian has been forced into the shadows, but, being the closest man to Sebastian Vettel in the World Championship means he now has to step up and take on the challenge the rest of the chasing pack are desperate for him to do – keep Vettel away from the top step of the podium.

Of course his consistency has been overshadowed by the fact he is the only member of the top five who is yet to pick up a victory this season, and as he failed to keep pace with the likes of Vettel, Alonso, Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton at the Hungarian Grand Prix, it would have been easy to write of Webber as on a downwards slide.

The man himself admitted after qualifying that he simply couldn’t go toe to toe with his illustrious rivals in the last race before the summer break.

His greatest obstacle this season has been the Pirelli tyres which he has struggled to adapt to, something Vettel hasn’t had to contend with as he proves himself a master of the rubber. There is no doubt that with similar equipment Vettel has made the biggest variable count in his favour this season.

“Webber’s charge in China demonstrated he is still a racer at heart, but he needs to show more of the aggression that was on display last season.”

He now has eight races to not only salvage some pride, but take some points off his team-mate to help improve his and the chasing pack’s slim chances of overhauling the German.

There is no doubt his usage of tyres has improved of late; four podiums in the last five races indicate his car is slowly becoming his friend, albeit a friend he had a major falling out with in Hungary.

Webber must now convert decent qualifying pace and pole positions into wins – none of his P1’s have been turned into race wins this season, something that will hurt Webber badly.

His charge in China demonstrated he is still a racer at heart, but he needs to show more of the aggression that was on display last season. His moves in Germany were halted by his team as he threatened to pass Vettel and it is impossible to know what is going on behind the scenes at Red Bull, but Webber has proved time and time again that he is willing to go wheel to wheel with Vettel, now he must go one step further and force Vettel backwards.

If he can finally make the step forward along with the likes of Ferrari and McLaren, then the championship might not be over as most have presumed.

It’s a big if, but it could happen, and if it does, we could be in for eight more dramatic races.

While the summer break continues,why not check out our video and gallery sections of the site? The gallery includes everything from a review of the season so far to the best pictures of Jenson Button’s girlfriend Jessica Michibata .

Make sure you check out our  Tweeting Around The Circuit articles too as well as Back In The Day – Formula1fancast’s stroll down memory lane bringing you the best moments in F1‘s history.