Mark Webber tells Eurosport-Yahoo! he is realistic about his chances of making the podium in his Red Bull any time soon.

How have you prepared for this weekend's race? What have you been up to?

MW: Much the same as I do for any race really. In previous years I've always come a day or so early because of media and PR commitments and to acclimatize to the hot weather but obviously this year the race is being held much earlier. In fact, it's a lot cooler here than it is back in the UK. I went back to the UK straight after Barcelona and so I've spent a bit of time at the Red Bull Racing factory seeing the boys, and also training.

After fifth last time out can you go one better this weekend and end the Turkish GP on the podium?

MW: Of course you're always looking to get the best result out of any race weekend but to finish third will probably mean a fair rate of attrition amongst the front runners.

What do you expect from the car? Have any changes been made to it?

MW: We introduced a lot of new things to the car at Barcelona - as did most teams - but we do have a few more tweaks this weekend.

Alan Jones said recently that the car is clearly improving and he expects you to win a race sometime soon. Is that a possibility this season?

MW: At the moment, it's very hard for us to race against the likes of Ferrari, McLaren and BMW and they're the guys competing for the three podium positions each race. Of course, there's always that rainy day which things don't go according to plan and that's when we need to be waiting in the wings and picking up the pieces. As a team, we are making good steps forward but I think we're still a while away from genuinely racing the big boys.

Where do you think your best chance of achieving this will be?

MW: I don't think a particular track would make any difference to me winning but something like changing weather conditions could play a factor.

Who do you expect your main battle to be with during this weekend's race?

MW: The usual suspects; Jarno Trulli, Fernando Alonso, Nico Rosberg.

Who are your direct rivals in general this season?

MW: Fernando

You've suffered a couple of car failures in Turkey. How much does that play on your mind when you return to a track?

MW: Not at all; I actually enjoy the track here.

How do you find the circuit in Istanbul? What are its particular qualities?

MW Istanbul is a very unique circuit, and obviously we go around it in an anticlockwise direction.

It has a similar layout to Brazil. We have a very fast left hand corner in Turn 8, which is very stressful for the car and driver. The circuit is very spectacular and very challenging.

Where do you rate it compared to the others on the calendar?

MW Turkey is in the top five F1 circuits.

Generally do you enjoy the young tracks or the more traditional ones which have been on the calendar for many years?

MW: I'm a big fan of the traditional circuits such as San Marino, Spa, Silverstone but some of the newer tracks such as Shanghai provide a good challenge too. I would like to see more street races in F1 so I'm looking forward to Valencia and Singapore.

Jones said there was no chance of Sydney hosting the Australian GP at Eastern Creek. What are your thoughts on that, and the chances of Melbourne retaining the opening fixture?

MW: I'd agree with Alan; the track would have been totally redeveloped as it simply isn't up to scratch and I'd question whether it's even safe enough for touring cars. The Australian Grand Prix has a fabulous home in Melbourne; it's a fantastic city, safe, welcoming and the F1 community love going there each year. I don't see the point of moving the race elsewhere but of course the Victorian Government has to be comfortable about hosting it into the future.

What about the race being held at night?

MW: If it was a deal-breaker in whether Australia had a F1 Grand Prix, I'd say yes, we should have the race held at night.

F1 was criticized for being a procession in Barcelona, with few overtaking moves. How do you expect the downforce changes and slick tyres to affect matters next year, and will you welcome them?

MW: At the moment, competitiveness in F1 is incredibly tight. We have such a small margin covering the whole field so I feel that the regulation changes next year will spread the field more. I am not sure if the overtaking will be affected, but the teams will be a lot further apart in terms of performance and not as competitively similar, as they are this year.

Mark Webber was speaking to Jon Symcox / Eurosport