Mark Webber is adamant he is one of the best drivers in Formula One - and claims he has never had a better chance to show it.

The Australian suffered a disappointing first season at Williams in 2005 when the former World Champions struggled for pace against the likes of Renault and McLaren.

Webber scored his first podium position, in Monaco, but became disenchanted with the team, leading to a mid-season showdown with team bosses.

Those clear-the-air talks got Webber and the team back on track and he helped launch their 2006 car on Friday in typically optimistic fashion.

The former Jaguar and Minardi driver said: "Last year was not much to build on until the end when I was scrapping for a podium.

"We know we had a really, really tough patch in the middle but I know I can compete with the best in Formula One - I know I can do it.

"You have got to be critical of yourself and become a stronger competitor. There is no doubt about it, I am the strongest I have ever been going into a season."

Webber, who partners Nico Rosberg this year, believes his mid-season crisis talks with his bosses at Williams helped lay the foundations for future success.

He added: "It's good that we were quite honest with each other, there were things that we could improve on both sides and we saw the performance change from both sides.

"I want to be a consistent operator and be performing at the front. The respect from both sides went up a lot more from then on."

Despite the loss of engine partner BMW, Webber feels the Cosworth-powered Williams could cause a surprise this season.

However, Webber admits the team will have no-one else to blame if they are not back amongst the front-runners.

"There is no real reason why we can't be strong," he said.

"Cosworth have made a good job of the engine and Bridgestone are working hard to bridge the gap that was there last year.

"It's down to what we control here, it's down to us to do a better job than the other teams and it is quite possible we can have a very, very competitive package, but we will only know when we get to Bahrain.

"We are not being conservative about our ambitions, we have to have solid ones but you can't dream and hope for everything, you still have to go out and do it."