Mark Webber | |
---|---|
Born | Mark Alan Webber 27 August 1976 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia |
Nationality | Australian |
FIA World Endurance Championship | |
Years active | 2014–2016 |
Teams | Porsche |
Starts | 25 |
Wins | 8 |
Poles | 8 |
Best finish | 1st in 2015 |
24 Hours of Le Mans career | |
Years | 1998–1999, 2014–2016 |
Teams | Porsche (2014–2016) Mercedes AMG (1998–1999) |
Best finish | 2nd (2015) |
Class wins | 0 |
Formula One World Championship career | |
Active years | 2002–2013 |
Teams | Minardi, Jaguar, Williams, Red Bull |
Entries | 217 (215 starts) |
Championships | 0 |
Wins | 9 |
Podiums | 42 |
Career points | 1,047.5 |
Pole positions | 13 |
Fastest laps | 19 |
First entry | 2002 Australian Grand Prix |
First win | 2009 German Grand Prix |
Last win | 2012 British Grand Prix |
Last entry | 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix |
Website | http://www.markwebber.com |
Mark Alan Webber AO (born 27 August 1976) is an Australian former professional racing driver who competed in Formula One from 2002 to 2013 and the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) between 2014 and 2016. He is a champion of the 2015 FIA WEC for Porsche with German Timo Bernhard and New Zealander Brendon Hartley.
Webber began karting at between 12 and 13 and achieved early success, before progressing to car racing in the Australian Formula Ford Championship and the British Formula 3 Championship. He competed for two years opposite Bernd Schneider in the FIA GT Championship with the AMG Mercedes team, finishing runner-up in the 1998 season with five wins in ten races before finishing second in the 2001 International Formula 3000 Championship with the Super Nova Racing outfit. Webber made his F1 debut with the Minardi team in the 2002 season and finished fifth in his first race, the Australian Grand Prix. He moved to the Jaguar squad for each of the 2003 and the 2004 championships. For the 2005 season, he was granted an early release from his contract with Jaguar and moved to the Williams team, securing his first podium finish at the Monaco Grand Prix. Webber remained at Williams until the 2006 campaign, switching to the Red Bull squad and stayed at the team for the rest of his F1 career. He achieved nine F1 Grand Prix victories, thirteen pole positions and finished third in the World Drivers' Championship in each of the 2010, 2011 and 2013 seasons with Red Bull.
He left F1 post-2013 and moved to the WEC alongside Bernhard and Hartley in a Porsche 919 Hybrid in the fully-professional Le Mans Prototype 1 category from the 2014 to 2016 seasons. The trio won eight races in the final two seasons and the 2015 World Endurance Drivers' Championship. He retired from motor sport in 2016, becoming a television pundit for Channel 4 in the UK and Network 10 in Australia and a driver manager. Webber received the Australian Sports Medal in 2000 and was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the 2017 Australia Day Honours. Webber is an inductee of both the Australian Motor Sport Hall of Fame and the FIA Hall of Fame.
On 27 August 1976, [1] Webber was born to a middle-class family, [2] in the small New South Wales town of Queanbeyan located in the Tablelands and on the banks of the Queanbeyan River, [3] [4] and near Canberra. [5] He is the son of local motorcycle dealer and petrol station owner Alan Webber and his wife Diane. [lower-alpha 1] Webber's paternal grandfather was a wood merchant delivering firewood. He has an elder sister. Webber attended the nearby Isabella Street Primary School and Karabar High School for his education. He represented Karabar High School in athletics and rugby league and did Australian rules football, cricket and swimming after his mother encouraged him to get involved in as many sports as possible. [7] At age 13, Webber served as a ball boy for the rugby league team Canberra Raiders for a year and delivered pizzas across the Canberra and Queanbeyan area to earn some money in his late schooling years. [7] [8] He also worked a variety of other jobs such as an apprentice plumber. [8] Webber lives in the small Buckinghamshire village of Aston Clinton with his wife Ann Neal and is stepfather to her son from a previous relationship. [4] [9]
He began driving motorbikes on weekends from about age four or five on his maternal grandfather's 2,500-acre (1,000 ha) farm. [10] [9] Webber was not encouraged to seriously take up motorcycling by his father, [10] because he sponsored some local children who were injured in motorbike accidents. [11] At about 12 or 13, he switched to karting, buying a go-kart from a school friend's father. He developed himself at a local indoor go-kart centre close to his home. Webber received a second-hand worn out go-kart from his father in 1990 and drove it about once a month at the Canberra Go-Kart Club and in meetings in and around Canberra. [12] [13] Andy Lawson, owner of Queanbeyan Kart Centre, built karts around Webber's frame and Webber father decided to lease his petrol station and invested a plethora of working time to fund his son's karting activities. [12] He had decided he wanted to do karting, [13] and made his junior-level karting debut in 1991 at age 14, [14] [15] winning the 1992 Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales (NSW) State championships. [13] In 1993, Webber took the Canberra Cup and the King of Karting Clubman Light Class titles. He earned the 1993 Top Gun Award at the Ian Luff Advanced Driving School. [14] Webber went on to claim the 1993 NSW Junior National Heavy Championship in a Lawson kart with a larger, more powerful engine. [12]
In 1994, he made his car racing debut, competing in the eight-round Australian Formula Ford Championship featuring non-aerodynamically dependent open-wheel racing vehicles fitted with treaded tyres. He drove Craig Lowndes' championship-winning 1993 RF93 Van Diemen FF1600 car that his father purchased. [15] [16] With a three-man team of mechanics, Webber achieved a season-high third at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit for 14th in the Drivers' Championship with 30 points and second in the Rookie of the Year standings. [14] [17] He also competed in the non-championship Formula Ford support race of the Australian Grand Prix, where he was disqualified for passing the field during the formation lap. [17] In late 1994, Webber's father had to decide whether to pay for another year of racing for his son or find sponsorship. He asked English-born media officer Ann Neal to locate sponsorship funding for Webber; Neal located support from the Australian Yellow Pages after she and Webber reviewed six proposals. [11] [18] Webber moved from Queanbeyan to Sydney to be closer to the Australian motor racing industry. When not racing, he earned money working two or three days a week as a driving instructor at the defensive driving school of Oran Park Raceway. [19]
He drove in the 1995 Australian Formula Ford Championship for Yellow Pages Racing in a current-model Van Diemen car, finishing fourth in the Drivers' Championship with three race victories, three pole positions and 158 points in a high-quality field. [20] [21] Webber drove a Birrana Racing Reynard 90D-Holden car for both Mallala Motor Sport Park rounds of the 1995 Australian Drivers' Championship, finishing second in both races for seventh in the Drivers' Championship with 32 points. [22] In October 1995, [23] he flew to the UK to reside in the London suburb of Hainault. [24] [3] Webber entered the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch with the Van Diemen factory team following meetings with team owner Ralph Firman Sr. and Neal, more sponsorship funding from Yellow Pages and reviewing charts on potential career paths. [23] Webber finished third in the race. [25] The performance impressed Firman enough to inform Webber he would drive for Van Diemen in both the 1996 European Formula Ford Championship and the 1996 British Formula Ford Championship, [lower-alpha 2] [27] finishing third and second overall, respectively. [22] He won four times in the British series, [28] to finish second to teammate Kristian Kolby, [21] and was also third in the Formula Ford Euro Cup driving two of the three rounds with a win at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. [25] Webber won the Formula Holden support race of the Australian Grand Prix, [27] and the Formula Ford Festival. [21] [25]
In 1997, he elected to skip Formula Renault and Formula Vauxhall on the advice of his sponsors, [29] and signed a contract to progress to the higher-tier British Formula Three Championship with Alan Docking Racing (ADR). [28] [30] Webber was the team's lead driver complimented by two funded non-competitive teammates, [21] and had been told to bring money to ADR to fund his season. [3] Driving a Dallara F397 car powered by an old Mugen Honda engine purchased by the Webber family, [29] [31] he won the Brands Hatch Grand Prix event and was fourth overall with 131 points. [29] [32] Webber was voted Rookie of the Year as 1997's highest-placed rookie. [33] [34] His funding almost dried up mid-season until motor racing journalist Peter Windsor suggested Webber solicit funding from rugby union player and family friend David Campese to complete the year and stop Webber ending his international career early. [lower-alpha 3] [29] [28] The funding gap meant Webber's season was run on a race-by-race basis and he received offers from Renault and Jackie Stewart. [35] Also that year, he finished third in the Masters of Formula 3 and fourth in the Macau Grand Prix for ADR. [lower-alpha 4] [36]
Webber introduced himself to Mercedes-Benz motorsports boss Norbert Haug in Australia in March 1997 and was asked about driving a CLK GTR car at the FIA GT Nürburgring 4 Hours in place of Alexander Wurz. He rejected the offer following a test session at the A1 Ring but was offered a driving role at the AMG Mercedes team in the 1998 FIA GT Championship. [lower-alpha 5] Negotiations from June to the end of September 1997 saw Webber sign a contract, partnering touring car driver Bernd Schneider, who mentored him driving-wise and in vehicle mechanics. Haug selected Webber after Gerhard Ungar of AMG Mercedes expressed his likeness for Webber's tenacity at what he was attempting to achieve; Haug paired Webber with Schneider because Mercedes wanted to pair a young driver with an experienced one. [38] Driving the No. 1 Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR, he and Schneider won five races and achieved eight podium finishes, [39] finishing championship runner-up to teammates Klaus Ludwig and Ricardo Zonta after a title duel with the sister team lasting until the season's final round. [21] [30]
In June 1998, Webber entered his first 24 Hours of Le Mans having pre-qualified by virtue of Schneider's 1997 FIA GT Championship victory. He, Ludwig and Schnieder retired their Le Mans-specific CLK-LM car after 75 minutes due to a steering pump fault causing an engine failure. [40] Late in the year, Campese Management took over Webber's affairs from Neal until she resumed her professional relationship with Webber; she suggested to Webber he enter the International Formula 3000 (IF3000) in 1999 if funding could be found. Webber was restricted to competing in just the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans because the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) had abolished the FIA GT Championship GT1 category due to a lack of manufacturer entries for 1999. [41] Sharing the No. 4 Mercedes-Benz CLR with Jean-Marc Gounon and Marcel Tiemann, [42] an aerodynamic fault with the car caused Webber to become airborne during both qualifying between Mulsanne Corner and Indianapolis corner and on the Mulsanne Straight in race-day warm up, forcing his withdrawal from the race. [lower-alpha 6] [21]
His relationship with Mercedes-Benz cooled following Le Mans since he felt it was unworried about him and he rejected Haug's offer to compete in American open-wheel racing. Greg Moore's death in an accident in California in October 1999 prompted Webber to focus on European single-seater racing. Contract negotiations to terminate his contract with Mercedes-Benz ended in around November and he was introduced to airline magnate Paul Stoddart through talks with Jordan Grand Prix team owner Eddie Jordan. Stoddart offered to underwrite the necessary $1.1 million budget for Webber combining F3000 and planned Formula One (F1) testing, and signed him to drive a Lola-Ford Zytek car for the Arrows F3000 team in the 2000 IF3000 Championship. [43] Webber was third in the Drivers' Championship with 21 points, winning at Silverstone, finishing on the podium twice and retiring four times. [21] [44]
For 2001, he signed a contract to drive for the Benetton Formula-affiliated, reigning teams' champions Super Nova Racing, replacing Nicolas Minassian after impressing team owner David Sears. [45] [46] Webber was considered the championship favourite. [47] He tended to overestimate the grip in his Lola car as he combined F3000 racing with regular access to F1 vehicles for testing. [31] Webber won at Imola, Monaco and Magny-Cours and was second at the Nürburgring. Four consecutive retirements in the final four rounds prevented him from winning a championship he desired to win since it was his last opportunity to do so in the lower categories. [45] He scored 39 points and was runner-up to Justin Wilson. [32]
He made his F1 test debut with the Arrows team in a two-day session at the Circuit de Catalunya organised by Stoddart in December 1999. [48] A planned test driving the Arrows A21 car at Silverstone in July 2000 was cancelled, [49] when team owner Tom Walkinshaw wanted Webber to sign a binding contract for 2001 that he and Stoddart disagreed with and consequently received a three-day evaluation test at Estroil two months later following discussions with Benetton. [50] After that, Webber and his legal team agreed terms with Benetton team owner Flavio Briatore to be its test and reserve driver, [50] developing the car for regular drivers Jenson Button and Giancarlo Fisichella for 2001 and would replace one of them if they became ill or injured. [51] He tested frequently for Benetton in 2001 and helped to improve the team's performance for the season's end. [52] Webber signed a ten-year contract to join Briatore's managerial stable in May 2001 after Neal suggested to Webber he join it to enable her to step back from driver management. [50]
Webber began competing in F1 with Minardi after a three-race contract was finalised with Stoddart following discussions with the team and lobbying from Ron Walker and telecommunications company Telstra. He replaced the outgoing Fernando Alonso and the Minardi PS02-Asiatech car he drove was underdeveloped and he was barely able to fit inside it due to his height. [53] Webber was the first Australian F1 driver since David Brabham in 1994, [54] and hoped to become experienced enough to make progress in F1. [55] He qualified 18th for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix and finished fifth following a plethora of first-lap retirements in his debut race. [56] This saw Stoddart extend Webber's three-race contract to the season's conclusion. [54] [57] At the Spanish Grand Prix four races later, Webber and his funded teammate Alex Yoong were withdrawn from the race due to three wing failures during practice. He outperformed Yoong and the latter's two-race replacement Anthony Davidson since he was the only Minardi driver using power steering due to budgetary constraints. [58] His best result for the rest of the season was an eighth place at the French Grand Prix and was able to remain in the middle of the running order, [59] frequently out performing the Arrows and Toyota teams. [60] Webber was 16th overall with two points. [32]
His management team were concerned about Minardi's financial situation and so arranged with Jaguar team principal and three-time world champion Niki Lauda a test session in the more powerful Jaguar R3 car in Spain in mid-2002 for evaluation. [61] The Toyota and Jaguar teams were interested in Webber, [62] and Stoddart released Webber from his Minardi contract. [63] He was confirmed as a Jaguar driver in November 2002 joined by former British F3 champion Antônio Pizzonia, [64] replacing the aging Eddie Irvine. [60] Webber was underprepared as his Jaguar R4 car had a highly unreliable Cosworth V10 engine with engine and aerodynamic development done to it and had quickly wearing rear tyres. [65] [57] At the season's third round, the Brazilian Grand Prix, he qualified a season-high third position; he crashed heavily after losing grip driving through a puddle to cool his tyres late in the rain-affected race from which he emerged uninjured. Webber scored points seven times that season with his best result being three sixth-places and was 10th in the Drivers' Championship with 17 points. [66] [67] Webber crashed less frequently than he had done in F3000, [66] and his qualifying and race pace saw him outperform both Pizzonia and Wilson. He was touted as a future star despite reliability issues and a weak car package. [68] [69]
Prior to the San Marino Grand Prix, Webber was offered a five-year contract to remain at Jaguar. [67] He signed a two-year extension to his Jaguar contract until post-2005 after it was keen to retain him having been impressed by his early-season performances, [70] and stopped enquiries from Ferrari and McLaren. [71] In October 2003, Webber was unanimously voted fourth director of the trade union Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA). [72] He was joined by the Red Bull-backed Christian Klien for all of the 2004 season. Webber contributed to the Jaguar R5's technical development and was consistent year-round as he extracted extra car performance. [73] He scored points four times with a season-high start of second at the Malaysian Grand Prix and a best finish of sixth at the European Grand Prix in the underperforming and unreliable R5 vehicle causing him to retire from 8 out of 18 races. [57] [74] Webber placed 13th overall with 7 points. [32]
Frank Williams, the Williams team owner, told Webber he would he happy to sign him for 2005 although Briatore wanted Webber at Renault alongside Alonso. Williams had been interested in Webber since he set the third-quickest race lap of the 2003 Austrian Grand Prix and Webber and Neal thought it an opportunity to advance his career. [75] He was in contact with the Williams team from the 2003 French Grand Prix to the 2004 pre-season period. [lower-alpha 7] [76] Webber activated an performance clause enabling his departure from Jaguar if an improved offer came along, [76] and Williams agreed to break Sauber driver Fisichella's contract clause dictating he join either their team, McLaren or Ferrari. [77] This allowed Webber to drive for Williams in 2005, [76] having been selected for his approach to driving. [78] He was granted an early release from Jaguar following the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix so he could test for Williams, [79] and prepared for the season by doing fitness training with cyclist Lance Armstrong at a training camp in Texas. [80]
Webber replaced the Toyota-bound Ralf Schumacher at Williams, and was joined by Nick Heidfeld for most of the season and Pizzonia for the final five races following injury to Heidfeld; [81] the Williams FW27 car was aerodynamically poor due to incorrectly calibrated wind tunnels, [82] and lacked race speed, seeing him lose positions after qualifying well. [83] He competed on painkillers prescribed to him by FIA medical director Gary Hartstein for the first two races because of a broken left-hand side rib and damaged rib cartilage he picked up after failing to exercise correctly prior to driving in a pre-season test session under high G-forces in Spain in mid-February. [84] [85] Webber achieved his F1 first podium finish, finishing third at the Monaco Grand Prix and tallied points in ten races that year. His best race start was second at the Spanish Grand Prix and qualified within the top five in the first seven rounds. Webber was involved in five race collisions and sustained a burnt right hip at the French Grand Prix due to heat generated by an failed external electronics box penetrating his car's cockpit. [86] He was 10th in the Drivers' Championship with 36 points and admitted his reputation had faltered. [32] Webber qualified higher than Heidfeld nine times, outperforming him six times and out-qualifying Pizzonia five times that season. [81]
Although informed by Frank Williams and technical director Patrick Head of his poor performance, Webber remained at Williams for 2006 since no other driver wanted to drive for the team. He had become distant from Williams and disliked its management because he expected to feel comfortable there; [86] he stayed with the team because he felt there "was something left" and was loyal to Williams. [87] Webber's teammate that year was GP2 Series champion Nico Rosberg and his FW28 car ran Bridgestone tyres and a Cosworth V8 engine after BMW ended its partnership with Williams and purchased the Sauber team. [88] He was voted out of the GPDA in September 2005 since it felt there were too many directors running it. [89] His car was unreliable and underpowered and retired inside the top three at each of the Australian Grand Prix and the Monaco Grand Prix early in the season. [90] Webber was 14th overall tallying 7 points; [32] his best results were two sixth places at the Bahrain Grand Prix and the San Marino Grand Prix. [88]
Webber's Williams contract ended in 2006 and the team did not re-sign him for two more years since it offered him less money. [91] Webber had become disillusioned with F1 with instructions on how to communicate to the press and individuals being barred from speaking their minds. Briatore directed Webber to the Red Bull Racing team and became interested since it had purchased Jaguar in late 2004 and signed world championship winning technical director Adrian Newey to design the RB3-Renault car. [92] His switch from Williams to Red Bull was confirmed in August 2006. Webber replaced Klien and partnered the experienced David Coulthard. [93] His move to Red Bull had been surprising as it was formed to promote young drivers and the drinks company. [87]
Before the season, Webber enquired about Red Bull adviser and junior formula team owner Helmut Marko for his treating young drivers and was told by team principal Christian Horner to obey Marko in order to avoid a cooling of relations. [92] The RB3 proved to be a quick car but mechanically fragile with poor reliability causing Webber to retire seven times over the course of the season. He scored his first points of 2007 when he finished seventh at the United States Grand Prix and achieved his second career podium finishing third at the European Grand Prix three races later. Webber scored only once more that year with another seventh place at the Belgian Grand Prix. He was on course to finish well at the rain-affected Japanese Grand Prix until Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel crashed into the rear of his car behind the safety car and eliminating both drivers from the race. Overall Webber tallied 10 points for 12th in the Drivers' Championship and had outperformed his teammate Coulthard 15 times in qualifying. [94]
He remained at Red Bull for the 2008 season and was again joined by Coulthard. The team aimed to finish fourth in the World Constructors' Championship and Webber's RB4 car was equipped with a new gearbox for reliability and its weight was moved more to the front. [95] His car was more reliable and his performance had improved from the previous season, being able to frequently qualify well and finish in the top-eight points paying positions at nine of 2008's eighteen rounds. Webber occasionally outperformed drivers with better machinery than his and he scored points in six of the first eight races, which included a season-high fourth place at the Monaco Grand Prix. He achieved his best starting position of 2008 when he qualified second for the British Grand Prix but he lost control of his car on a puddle early on the first lap and was relegated to finishing tenth. [96] Thereafter, Webber's performance over the rest of the season had diminished mainly because Red Bull had opted to sacrifice speed so it could focus on constructing a new car to comply with the regulation changes coming into force for the 2009 championship. [97] He scored points three more times in the final nine Grands Prix had scored 21 points for 11th in the Drivers' Championship. [96]
In May 2008, Webber began negotiations to extend his Red Bull contract following the team's performance early that year. [98] These negotiations concluded not long after with an one-year extension retaining Webber through the conclusion of the 2009 season. [99] He said reaching the agreement was not complicated and was eager to see how Red Bull would begin the preceding season following personnel changes. [100] Webber was unable to partake in a three-day pre-season test session held at the Jerez circuit in Spain because of sustaining multiple injuries in a head-on collision with a Nissan four-wheel drive car heading towards him at a charity endurance cycling event in Port Arthur, Tasmania in November 2008. [lower-alpha 8] [101] [102] Although doctors assessed Webber's fractured right leg to be a six-month injury, he was able to regain enough fitness to be back driving an F1 car at the 2009 pre-season test sessions at Jerez and Barcelona, [103] as a result of the late launch of the RB5 car. [104] Webber was not entirely psychically fit for the start of the season and underwent surgery between events not to stop himself from contracting infections. [105]
His teammate for the season was Vettel, who was promoted from Toro Rosso to replace the retiring Coulthard. [106] In the season's third event, the Chinese Grand Prix, Webber began from third and improved on his highest career race finish at that time to place second. He attained points in four of the following five races, including three further podiums to briefly become a championship contender from consistency. [32] [107] His performances improved when the second version of the RB5 car's double diffuser was introduced. [31] At the German Grand Prix, Webber nullified the effect of a drive-through penalty he incurred for a first-lap collision with Rubens Barrichello's Brawn GP car to achieve his first career victory from his maiden pole position. By winning on his 130th Grand Prix start, he set the record for the highest number of career race starts before his first win. [lower-alpha 9] [109] Webber was told that he and Vettel would be allowed to race each other "for the foreseeable future" in spite of trying to reduce the lead of championship leader Button. [110] He moved to second overall after finishing third at the Hungarian Grand Prix but fell to fourth due to a combination of driver and team errors along with reliability in the next four races. [111] [112] At the year's penultimate round, the Brazilian Grand Prix, Webber achieved his second career victory and held off Button to finish second at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. He was fourth in the drivers' standings with 691⁄2 points. [111]
Webber began discussions with Red Bull to extend his contract with the team in July 2009. [113] They agreed terms not long after for Webber to remain at Red Bull alongside Vettel in the 2010 championship as reward for his performance in 2009. [114] [115] His RB6 car was designed to channel the engine exhaust gases through a slot in its bodywork to the diffuser's central section to increase downforce and cornering speed. [116] Webber believed the upcoming season would be about tyres since every car would now be required to begin each race with a full fuel tank and the additional weight would affect the tyres reliability. His preparations were hampered when he tweaked his knee during training and forcing a delay to his schedule as an surgeon conducted a full incision at its front. [116] Inactivity while undergoing surgery increased Webber's weight to 80 kg (180 lb); he went on a strict diet to keep his weight at 75 kg (165 lb). [117]
That season, Webber vied for the title with Vettel, McLaren's Lewis Hamilton and Button and Ferrari's Alonso. He finished no lower than ninth in the first four races with a second place at the Malaysian Grand Prix. Webber took a joint championship lead with teammate Vettel from consecutive victories at the Spanish Grand Prix and Monaco Grand Prix from pole position. [115] At the Turkish Grand Prix, he qualified on pole position; he and Vettel collided duelling for the lead, leaving him third and in a clear points lead. The collision saw Marko and Webber's relationship cool because Webber felt Marko had blamed him for causing the accident and was favouring his teammate Vettel. He and his management attempted to convince Horner to not be influenced by Marko and inform them he need to take a clear position since he changed his mind about who was to blame for causing the collision. [118] Early in the European Grand Prix, Webber suffered an airborne collision with the rear of Heikki Kovalainen's Lotus and broke his brake pedal upon landing upright en route to striking the barrier. He was unhurt. [119]
He won the British Grand Prix starting from second and remarked over the radio "Not bad for a number two driver" due to his perception of favouritism within Red Bull since Vettel received a new front wing intended for Webber after free practice. Webber took his fourth victory of 2010 at the Hungarian Grand Prix and three more podium finishes in the next four races. [115] He sustained a minor right shoulder injury in a mountain bike accident before the Japanese Grand Prix and used painkillers to finish the season. [120] [lower-alpha 10] Webber relinquished the championship lead to Alonso following the Korean Grand Prix as a result of a collision with the barrier that sent him drifting into Rosberg's Mercedes. Finishing second at the Brazilian Grand Prix saw him enter the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix eight points behind Alonso but seven ahead of Vettel. [115] Webber need to win the race and for Alonso to place third or lower to secure the championship. [121] He was eighth in the race as Vettel won and Alonso came seventh for third overall with 242 points. [122] Post-season, Webber was angry not with Vettel but with Red Bull's management over what he perceived as a devaluing of his achievements that year. [123]
He signed an extension to his Red Bull contract for the 2011 season prior to the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix, [lower-alpha 11] [118] having agreed with the team to sign one-year contracts late in his career for ability and quality assessment; he considered switching teams or retiring if Red Bull did not renew his contract. [125] [126] Webber had a worse mental state prior to the season because he had been ready for a championship win and then retire partly to stop all negativity in his racing career and him having "reached my ultimate destination". [127] His objective was to extract the maximum from himself and his RB7 car featuring the kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) and the drag reduction system device and produced a high level of rear-end grip from an exhaust-blown diffuser. [127] [128] Webber's car was hindered by intermittent KERS failures that Red Bull rectified and he was frustrated with the quickly degrading Pirelli tyres losing their performance when a driver was in the aerodynamic turbulence of another car. [127] [129] He made fewer pit stops by being on the same strategy as other drivers after previously having to stop more often earlier in 2011 from being involved in competitive racing. [129] Webber made slower starts due to the car's ballast distribution compromised by the KERS' additional weight and exacerbated by him weighing 11 kg (24 lb) more than Vettel. [lower-alpha 12] [130]
Dietrich Mateschitz, the Red Bull owner, directed the team to allow both Webber and Vettel to race each other. [131] Webber came no lower than fifth in the first four races and finished third at the Chinese Grand Prix and second at the following Turkish Grand Prix. At the Spanish Grand Prix, he qualified on pole position for the first time since the previous year's Belgian Grand Prix and finished fourth. Webber took consecutive pole positions at the British Grand Prix and the German Grand Prix and seven podiums from eleven top-ten finishes in the following 13 events. [132] He achieved his sole victory of 2011 at the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix to take third overall from Alonso with a career-high 258 points. [127] [133] Webber initially struggled with the new Pirelli tyres because he produced a greater amount of lateral load than his teammate Vettel and used his throttle pedal more aggressively, but his qualifying and race performances improved once he became better acquainted with the compounds. He was outpaced by Vettel year-round but he was able to close the gap to him by the season's conclusion. [134] [135]
Webber remained at Red Bull for the 2012 championship, [136] having signed a contract extension on the day of the previous year's Hungarian Grand Prix and after reviewing offers from other teams before making his decision. [137] [138] He met with Mateschitz during the mid-season interval and followed up with discussions with Horner about his plans for 2012. [139] The decision to re-sign was made more difficult for Webber in mid-2011 because of his poor qualifying performance on Pirelli tyres and noted the potential of Newey's car designs. [136] He entered the season in a good mood following fitness training in Australia and noted he did not control vehicle reliability issues or team errors. [140] Webber was also confident he would have "a very, very strong season", [141] and hoped to achieved a good start as he had two years prior. [142]
The RB8 car was not as dominant as its two predecessors; Newey focused on understanding the relationship between the car and its tyres while coping with various protests over its legality. [143] Webber finished fourth in each of the season's first four races and was hampered by minor mechanical problems and faulty KERS. He had become frustrated with F1 racing after qualifying outside the top ten for the Spanish Grand Prix and finishing the event 11th. Webber noted racing in that era would see a driver starting outside the top ten would be delayed by slower cars and degrading his Pirelli tyres to an extent that he needed to slow. He went on to win the Monaco Grand Prix for the second time from pole position and then the British Grand Prix three races later after passing Alonso with eight laps remaining to put him second overall behind Alonso. Webber scored two more podiums with a third and second at the Korean Grand Prix and the following Indian Grand Prix respectively during the season's final 11 races and suffered more KERS reliability issues. [144] He finished the year sixth overall tallying 179 points. [32]
Webber and Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali met in May 2012 to discuss driving at Ferrari alongside Alonso, replacing Felipe Massa for one year with the option for a second. Briatore, Domenicali and Alonso all wanted Webber to drive for Ferrari but Webber felt switching teams would be an incorrect decision. [144] Webber signed a one-year contract extension with Red Bull through to the 2013 championship not long after, partly to honour an earlier promise he had made to Horner and Mateschitz to stay at the team until the end of his F1 career and also due to him being in championship contention early in 2012. [145] His training was lightened briefly over the pre-season period when a titanium rod in his right leg was removed in December 2012. After restarting training that month, Webber decided to retire from F1 post-season because he wanted to spend more time with his family. He was also demotivated with F1 since drivers could not criticise Pirelli's tyres for fear of possibly upsetting others and the politics when large sums of money were involved. [146] [147] Webber was assigned Simon Rennie as his race engineer after his five-year working relationship with Ciaron Pilbeam ended when Pilbeam became the Lotus team's chief race engineer. [lower-alpha 13] [148]
Early in the championship, his RB9 car struggled possibly due to its aerodynamic profile on the new softer Pirelli compounds but performed better when the 2012 compounds were re-introduced mid-season. [lower-alpha 14] At the Malaysian Grand Prix, the season's second round, tension between Webber and Vettel rose after his teammate overtook him late in the race against team orders instructing him to stay in second place. A remark about Vettel making an independent decision to disobey team orders by Webber led the former to say he disliked what was said and had lost respect for the latter as a person. After that, Webber was aware that the remainder of the season would be onerous and tension between him and Vettel would place stress on Red Bull. He went on to claim a total of eight podium finishes over the course of the championship, finishing second a further four times at the British Grand Prix and at each of the Japanese Grand Prix and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from pole position as well the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix. [150] Webber did not achieve a race victory in 2013 and concluded his final F1 season third overall with 199 points. [32]
He met Porsche board member Wolfgang Hatz at the re-opening of the renamed Red Bull Ring in mid-2011 and was told that Porsche would be returning to motor racing in 2014. Hatz was interested in Webber joining the German marque's test programme beginning in 2013. [151] Contract negotiations concluded with an agreement for Webber to drive for Porsche in 2014 but it was not signed until mid-2013. He informed Mateschitz and Horner of the decision to leave and made the announcement in Silverstone. [lower-alpha 15] [146] Webber chose to switch to sports car racing to get away from the attention associated with F1 and to enjoy the longer intervals between races. [37] He would share the No. 20 closed-cockpit Porsche 919 Hybrid sports prototype car with German Timo Bernhard and New Zealander Brendon Hartley in the fully-professional Le Mans Prototype 1-Hybrid (LMP1-H) category of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). [152]
He would be less physically challenged than he was in an F1 car and knew he needed consistently high concentration levels to cope with the difference in speed between each of the four classes in the WEC, driving at night, re-adjusting to lapping slower vehicles while losing the least amount of time and dealing with changeable conditions during a long race. [lower-alpha 16] [152] [153] Webber was advised on modern day sports car racing by Bernhard and in turn taught Bernhard and Hartley about the circuits he drove on in F1. He was mindful on developing the Porsche for his co-drivers and not for himself but directed the manufacturer to concentrate on entering research and development projects for performance optimisation in the shortest possible time. [154] Webber also helped the team reduce the amount of pit stop time. [155]
He began the 2014 championship qualifying sixth for the season-opening 6 Hours of Silverstone and finishing third. [152] Webber experienced hybrid technical issues at the following 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps leaving he and his co-drivers 23rd overall. [39] At the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Porsche were not preoccupied with victory; Webber's team qualified the No. 20 car second and retired with a broken anti-roll bar 22 hours in. [156] [152] The next four races saw him finish no lower than sixth, placing third at both the 6 Hours of Fuji and the 6 Hours of Bahrain. [152] At the season-ending 6 Hours of São Paulo, his team qualified on pole position; [39] late in the race, the right-rear of his car was involved in a collision with Matteo Cressoni's No. 90 AF Corse-run 8 Star Motorsports Ferrari 458 Italia, sending him into a concrete barrier. Webber sustained a left lung contusion and a severe concussion, recovering from the effects of the crash weeks later. [152] [157] He was ninth in the World Endurance Drivers' Championship with 641⁄2 points. [32]
He was retained by Porsche for the 2015 season and again raced with Bernhard and Hartley in the renumbered No. 17 car. [39] [158] Webber and Hartley qualified their 919 Hybrid on pole position for the season-opening 6 Hours of Silverstone but Webber was forced to retire the car early in the race with drivetrain failure. [159] He was on pole position at the following 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and finished third after Hartley incurred a stop-and-go penalty for rejoining the track via an escape road. [160] His team qualified and finished second at the 24 Hours of Le Mans after Hartley was observed speeding in a slow zone and Webber served the subsequent one-minute stop-and-go penalty. [39] [161] He and his co-drivers went on to claim four consecutive victories in the following four races to enter the season-ending 6 Hours of Bahrain leading Audi's consistent trio of Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoît Tréluyer by 12 points. [162] Webber and his teammates needed to finish third in the race and for Fässler, Lotterer and Tréluyer for the World Endurance Drivers' Championship. [163] They qualified on pole position and came through mechanical problems to place finish and claim the title with 166 points, five ahead of Fässler, Lotterer and Tréluyer. [164]
Webber again remained at Porsche alongside Bernhard and Hartley in the renumbered No. 1 car for the 2016 championship. [39] [165] The crew retired from the season-opening 6 Hours of Silverstone following a collision between Hartley and a slower Porsche GT car. [166] At the following 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, he sustained two tyre punctures and a front axle gearbox problem leaving his team 27th overall. [167] Webber began from second at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and finished 13th overall due to a water pump failure that emerged when Webber was driving, losing him and his squadd three hours in the garage. [168] The rest of the season saw the crew win four of the next six races and one pole position for fourth in the World Endurance Drivers' Championship with 1341⁄2 points. [32] [39]
Webber decided to retire from motor racing after the conclusion of the 2016 FIA WEC. [169] Thoughts of him retiring post-season came to him at the Spa-Francorchamps race before deciding to commit to it before the event and informed Porsche of his decision. Webber kept the news secret until the round at Fuji Speedway. He cited Porsche's dwindling desire to commit fully to its LMP1 programme and that it was difficult "to do this job half-hearted" with regards to being motivated to do test sessions and races as reasons for retiring. [170] [171] Webber was due to compete in the American-based short track oval racing series Superstar Racing Experience in 2021; travel restrictions meant Webber was ultimately unable to. [172]
Journalist Mark Hughes described Webber's core driving style as "the thing he does arguably better than anyone else, is extract every ounce of potential from the car through fast, aerodynamically-loaded corners" since extra lap time could be located in slower turns because the car remains in them for longer. [173] He was able to feel the braking grip of his tyres and could correctly modulate throttle power as the amount the grip reduced under braking to slow the vehicle down. Entering a braking zone, Webber achieved more retardation rate in a downforce-reliant car than other drivers and as the downforce decreased he was able to modulate pressure and sensitivity well to remain within the tyre's grip limit. [173] His braking pressure force enabled him to translate lap time where the entry speed is high enough to make this possible without brake locking. [104] His driving style, which was refined in downforce-heavy sports cars in the late 1990s, was not suited to a more gentle approach required for driving V8 F1 cars in the late 2000s and on Pirelli tyres. [174]
Webber is the brand ambassador of the luxury fashion house Hugo Boss, the car brand Porsche, [175] the watch manufacturer Rolex, [24] the synthetic engine oil brand Mobil 1, [176] the airline carrier Qantas, [177] and the spinal cord injury research charity Wings for Life. [178] In July 2003, he helped to launch that year's Road Safety Handbook aiming to give road safety guides for residents of Milton Keynes. [179] As a result of his endorsement money and salary, he was included in Australia's Top 50 Sports Earners and the BRW Young Rich lists by BRW magazine. [180] [181] From 2009 to 2013, Webber and Horner co-owned the MW Arden junior team that ran in the GP3 Series which was held in support of European F1 races. [182] He launched the off-road sports clothing brand Aussie Grit for mountain riding and running in 2018, [183] and fronted Porsche and Boss' clothing collections for 2019 and 2020. [175]
In 2003, Webber began the ten-day 1,000 km (620 mi) adventure challenge trek Mark Webber Challenge composed of cycling, kayaking and cross-country running in Tasmania to raise money for children's cancer charities. [184] [185] He was inspired to begin the event in "the desire to give something back" [184] and organised it following his grandfather's death from cancer as well as his experiences of friends whose children had cancer. [186] Webber held the challenge again from 2006 to 2008 but not in 2009 and 2010 due to economical problems. [187] He reestablished the event with corporate and local government sponsorship in 2011 and continued to hold it until 2013. [188] Inspire Young People and Webber created the Mark Webber Youth Challenge in 2014 involving college student teams raising money for charity participating in physical activities. [189] He has served as patron of the Amy Gillett Foundation promoting safer on-road relationships between cyclists and motorists, [190] and of the Aylesbury College Trust. [191] Webber won the F1 pro-am tennis tournament in Barcelona three times. [192]
Webber has written columns for Autosport , [193] the BBC, [145] and The Sydney Daily Telegraph . [194] He accepted an offer to provide expert analysis on F1 for the British television broadcaster Channel 4 from the 2016 season on. [192] [195] Webber has done a similar role for Channel 10 in Australia covering the Australian Grand Prix and co-hosted the 2015 Clipsal 500 of the V8 Supercars Championship for the broadcaster. [196] [197] He served as guest reporter for two rounds of the 2017 World Rally Championship on Red Bull TV. [198] Since early 2020, Webber has mentored racing driver Oscar Piastri and represents his commercial interests through the management arm JAM Sports Management he founded with his wife and corporate and sports CEO Jason Allen. [199] He authored the book, Up Front - 2010, A Season To Remember, in 2010. [120] Webber's autobiography, Aussie Grit: My Formula One Journey, was ghost written by Stuart Sykes and published in 2015. [200] Webber owned a public house, The Stag, in Mentmore. [105]
He is nicknamed "Aussie Grit" for "his determination in the face of adversity and his patriotism." [105] Bruce Jones described Webber in the 2015 book The Story of Formula One: 65 Years of Life in the Fast Lane as having earned "considerable admiration for his straight-talking, honest approach that was devoid of pretence or hyperbole. He is an out-and-out racer cast from something of an old-fashioned mould and as such often seemed an adult in an increasingly infantile world." [37] BBC Sport's Andrew Benson wrote that Webber's "combination of race-winning pace and forthright manner has made him a central figure in F1 over the last decade" and that the driver had "remained true to himself. He is unimpressed with the trappings of F1 and its supposed glamour. And his willingness to follow his own mind is intact." [5]
Webber won the BRDC Bruce McLaren Award in 1998, 2000, 2001, [201] 2009, [202] and 2010 as "the Commonwealth driver who has established the most meritorious performances in international motor racing." [203] In October 2000, he received the Australian Sports Medal for placing second in the 1998 FIA GT Championship and participating in the IF3000 Championship. [204] Webber was voted "Rookie of the Year" by both readers of F1 Racing and Autosport magazines and was named "F1 Newcomer of the Year" at the annual Grand Prix Party Awards. [36] He earned the 2003 F1 Driver of the Year from Autocar magazine, [205] and the Lorenzo Bandini Trophy in 2006. [206] In 2009, Webber won the Innes Ireland Trophy for displaying "the qualities of courage and sportsmanship epitomized by the late Innes Ireland." [202]
He received the Hawthorn Memorial Trophy in 2010 and 2013 as the most successful British or Commonwealth driver over the course of the season. [191] Webber was voted the 2010 GQ Australia Sportsman of the Year, [207] and won the 2011 DHL Fastest Lap Award for setting more fastest laps than any driver that year with seven. [208] He earned the 2013 Johnny Wakefield Trophy for "setting the fastest race lap of the season on the Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit." [209] He was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the 2017 Australia Day Honours for "distinguished service to motor sport as a competitor and ambassador, and to the community through fundraising and patronage of a range of medical and youth support organisations." [210] Webber was inducted into the Australian Motor Sport Hall of Fame in 2018, [211] and the FIA Hall of Fame in 2019. [212]
Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Rank | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1998 | AMG Mercedes | GT1 | Mercedes-Benz CLK LM | Mercedes-Benz M119 6.0L V8 | OSC 3 | SIL 1 | HOC 1 | DIJ 11 | HUN 1 | SUZ 1 | DON 1 | A1R 2 | HMS 4 | LAG 2 | 2nd | 69 |
Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1998 | AMG-Mercedes | Klaus Ludwig Bernd Schneider | Mercedes-Benz CLK-LM | GT1 | 19 | DNF | DNF | |||||||||
1999 | AMG-Mercedes | Jean-Marc Gounon Marcel Tiemann | Mercedes-Benz CLR | LMGTP | 0 | DNS | DNS | |||||||||
2014 | Porsche Team | Timo Bernhard Brendon Hartley | Porsche 919 Hybrid | LMP1-H | 346 | NC | NC | |||||||||
2015 | Porsche Team | Timo Bernhard Brendon Hartley | Porsche 919 Hybrid | LMP1 | 394 | 2nd | 2nd | |||||||||
2016 | Porsche Team | Timo Bernhard Brendon Hartley | Porsche 919 Hybrid | LMP1 | 346 | 13th | 5th | |||||||||
Source: [39] |
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap; small number denotes finishing position)
Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | DC | Points | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2000 | European Arrows F3000 | IMO 3 | SIL 1 | CAT Ret | NUR Ret | MON Ret | MAG 16 | A1R 4 | HOC 3 | HUN 9 | SPA 16 | 3rd | 21 | |||
2001 | Super Nova Racing | INT 7 | IMO 1 | CAT 7 | A1R Ret | MON 1 | NUR 2 | MAG 1 | SIL 4 | HOC Ret | HUN Ret | SPA Ret | MNZ Ret | 2nd | 39 | |
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap; small number denotes finishing position)
‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed by the winner.
† Did not finish, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.
Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Rank | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | Porsche Team | LMP1 | Porsche 919 Hybrid | Porsche 2.0 L Turbo V4 (Hybrid) | SIL 3 | SPA 12 | LMS NC | COA 5 | FUJ 3 | SHA 6 | BHR 3 | SÃO Ret | 9th | 64.5 | |
2015 | Porsche Team | LMP1 | Porsche 919 Hybrid | Porsche 2.0 L Turbo V4 (Hybrid) | SIL Ret | SPA 3 | LMS 2 | NÜR 1 | COA 1 | FUJ 1 | SHA 1 | BHR 5 | 1st | 166 | |
2016 | Porsche Team | LMP1 | Porsche 919 Hybrid | Porsche 2.0 L Turbo V4 (Hybrid) | SIL Ret | SPA 26 | LMS 10 | NÜR 1 | MEX 1 | COA 1 | FUJ 3 | SHA 1 | BHR 3 | 4th | 134.5 |
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