Formula One is 'boring' says Mark Webber

Formula One is in for one of its most boring seasons on record unless rules are modified, according to Australian Mark Webber.

Webber, who finished eighth for Red Bull behind winner Fernando Alonso in a Ferrari at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix at the weekend, has joined the outcry over the dreary spectacle.

With a ban on refueling this season and pitstops limited to one a race, drivers reacted by producing an unbroken procession for fear of ruining tyres by pushing too hard or attempting to overtake.

Webber said the new rules drained the race of any potential excitement - and next week's Australian GP could end up being just as dull.

"It got pretty boring," Webber said.

"I spent 48 laps staring at a the gearboxes of first (Michael) Schumacher and then (Jenson) Button and there was nothing I could do to pass them.

"I tried everything - different lines, pressure, everything. But they're both good drivers and neither of them made a mistake."

Webber said he was stunned at how hard it had become to overtake after becoming stuck behind world champion Jenson Button following a pit stop with a tyre problem.

The visit cost him four seconds and dropped him back behind Button, to eighth, where he stayed for the remainder of the race.

"I was quicker than him but I was unable to find a way through," Webber said.

"He didn't make a mistake and if I'd tried to force the issue it would have ended in a crash.

"I was pretty shocked by how hard it was to overtake and it doesn't bode well for any of the one-stop races on the calendar, when everyone is going to be following pretty much the same strategy.

"We can only hope that other circuits will lend themselves to overtaking more than Sakhir."

Webber expressed frustration with the continual rule-tinkering in Formula One.

"Wow! New rules, not sure huh?" he asked on Twitter. "Why do they keep dicking with it? Followed Mercedes power for the whole race, no chance to overtake - again."

Nevertheless, Webber is confident that Red Bull will be competitive in Melbourne next week.

"The RB6 was competitive in Bahrain which proves what a phenomenal job the guys in Milton Keynes have done over the winter," he said.

"We've now got to put the icing on the cake by getting the results that the car deserves on a Sunday afternoon.

"We've done it in the past and I'm absolutely sure that well do it again."

- AAP