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Mark Alan Webber (born 27 August 1976) is an Australian Formula One driver.
After some racing success in Australia, Webber moved to the United Kingdom
in 1995 to further his motorsport career. Webber began a partnership
with fellow Australian Paul Stoddart, at that time owner of the European
Racing Formula 3000 team, which eventually took them both into Formula
One when Stoddart bought the Minardi team.
Webber
made his Formula One debut in 2002, scoring Minardi's first points in
three years at his and Stoddart's home race. After his first season
Jaguar Racing took him on as lead driver. During two years with the
generally uncompetitive team Webber several times qualified on the front
two rows of the grid and outperformed his team mates. His first F1 win
was with Red Bull Racing in the 2009 German Grand Prix, which followed
second places at the 2009 Chinese, Turkish, and British Grands Prix. By
the end of 2009, Webber had scored eight podiums, including another
victory in Brazil. His eight podiums in 2009 compares to only two
podiums in the first seven years of his career. He has since added ten
more podiums in 2010, including victories in Spain, Monaco, Britain and
Hungary. Webber finished the 2010 season in third place having led for a long period, losing out to teammate Sebastian Vettel.
Webber was also a long-term director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, the Formula One drivers' union.
Early life and career
Webber
was born in Queanbeyan, New South Wales, son of Alan, a local
motorcycle dealer. He started his relationship with sport at a young
age, working as a ball boy for premiership winning rugby league team,
the Canberra Raiders, during the late 1980s. However, motorsport was
where his interest lay, later listing Formula One World Champion Alain
Prost and Grand Prix motorcycle racer Kevin Schwantz as his childhood
heroes. Starting out racing motorcycles, Webber moved to four wheels in
1991, taking up karting at the age of 14. He won the New South Wales
state championship in 1993, and moved straight into the Australian
Formula Ford Championship after his father bought him an ex-Craig
Lowndes Van Diemen FF1600. Working as a driving instructor at Sydney's
Oran Park Raceway between races, Webber finished 14th overall in his
debut season. Continuing in the series in 1995, Webber scored several
victories, including a win in the support race for the Australian Grand
Prix at Adelaide. He finished the series in fourth place but, perhaps
more importantly, teamed up with Championship coordinator Ann Neal, who
secured him a seven-year sponsorship with Australian Yellow Pages, and
would become his manager and accompany him on a trip to England in an
attempt to start a career in Europe.
Europe
Webber
was given a test at Snetterton with the Van Diemen team, and
subsequently earned a works drive for the team at the 1995 Formula Ford
Festival, held at Brands Hatch, where he finished third. It was a result
good enough to prompt the team into signing him for the 1996
championship. Before moving to Europe permanently, Webber won the
Formula Holden race at the 1996 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
During the 1996 British Formula Ford Championship, Webber took four
victories on his way to second place overall, finishing his strong
season with a win in the Formula Ford Festival. He also won the
Spa-Francorchamps race of the Formula Ford Euro Cup, taking third in the
series despite competing in only two of the three rounds. His results
throughout the year saw him voted as Australian motorsport's "Young
Achiever" and "International Achiever" of 1996. Two days after his
Festival victory Webber completed a successful test for Alan Docking
Racing, and was signed by the team to graduate to Formula Three in 1997.
Formula Three and GT
"We
really struggled with the budget early in the year. Between Dad and
[sponsor] Yellow Pages we bought the car but we simply didn't have the
money to run it. At one point, we were so behind on payments that we
decided to ask David Campese for help. He played union with Dad for the
Queanbeyan Whites, so he knew our family well, and if anyone was going
to buy into what I was trying to do, we thought it would be him. In the
end, he paid something like £50,000, which was just unbelievable, and it
meant that we could keep going."
Mark Webber on his 1997 season.
Without
the financial backing he had enjoyed during his time in Formula Ford,
Webber and his team struggled to find the money to fund their
championship campaign. He was almost forced to quit halfway through the
season, but was able to obtain significant financial and personal
support from Australian rugby union legend David Campese, which helped
him to complete the year. Mark has since stated he has been able to pay
back the money Campese gave him.
Webber
took victory in just his fourth ever F3 race, at Brands Hatch, leading
from start to finish and setting a new lap record in the process. He
took a further four podium finishes, including a second place in the
support race for the 1997 British Grand Prix, and finished the season in
fourth overall. Webber also took strong finishes in the Marlboro
Masters at Zandvoort (3rd) and the Macau Grand Prix (4th), both times
making his circuit debut.
During
the 1997 season, Webber was approached by Mercedes-AMG to compete in a
sports car race. Although he initially declined the offer he was
persuaded at the end of the year when invited to participate in a test
session for the team at the A1-Ring in Austria. AMG were suitably
impressed with Webber, and he was signed as the official Mercedes works
junior driver for the 1998 FIA GT Championship, alongside reigning
champion Bernd Schneider. Travelling around the world, including the
United States, Japan and Europe, the pair won five of the ten rounds on
their way to second in the overall standings, beaten to the Championship
by teammates Klaus Ludwig and Ricardo Zonta by just eight seconds in
the final race at Laguna Seca. Webber remained with the AMG team for
1999, and was promoted to his own race car for the season. However, his
sportscar career came to an early end after he flipped twice on the
Mulsanne straight during practice for the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans race.
An aerodynamic fault on the team's Mercedes-Benz CLRs caused Webber to
spectacularly become airborne during both practice and race-day warm up,
with the same fate befalling teammate Peter Dumbreck five hours into
the race. Both drivers escaped uninjured, but the crashes forced
Mercedes to shelve their sportscar program for the year and Webber to
reconsider a return to open wheel racing.
Formula One testing and signing
Webber
spoke to Formula One team owner Eddie Jordan, who introduced him to
fellow Australian Paul Stoddart. Stoddart offered to undercut the
necessary $1.1 million budget for Webber, and gave him a drive in his
Eurobet Arrows Formula 3000 team for 2000. As a result, Webber also got
his first taste of a Formula One car, completing a two-day test at
Barcelona in December 1999 for the Arrows F1 team.
Webber
was signed as test driver for the Arrows F1 team for 2000, and also
gained sponsorship from Australian beer company Foster's whilst
competing in Formula 3000. Webber took victory in round two of the
season at Silverstone, and finished the series with two fastest laps and
three podiums on his way to third overall—the highest position of any
rookie that year. Contract issues meant that Webber was never able to
drive the Arrows A21 car, and rejected a full contract offer for 2001 in
July. However, he was offered a three day evaluation test for Benetton
at the end of the year, outpacing F1 drivers Ralf Schumacher and
Giancarlo Fisichella at Estoril. The results were good enough to earn
him the test driver role with the team for 2001, and he also agreed to
take on team boss Flavio Briatore as manager in return for finance for a
further F3000 season. Webber joined the championship-winning Super Nova
Racing team, and despite winning at Imola, Monaco and Magny-Cours, he
finished second overall to British driver Justin Wilson. Webber was
replaced as test driver for Benetton for 2002 by Fernando Alonso, but
Briatore managed to secure Webber a contract to race alongside Alex
Yoong in the Stoddart-owned Minardi team, making him the first
Australian in Formula One since David Brabham in 1994.
t]Formula One career
Minardi (2002)
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| Webber driving for Minardi at the 2002 French Grand Prix,. |
Webber
made his Formula One debut at his home race, the Australian Grand Prix.
This was the first race of an initial three race contract and was
extended until the end of the season after his first race. He qualified
18th of the 22 cars, over 4 seconds away from the pole position time,
but 1.4 seconds ahead of team-mate Yoong. The start of the race featured
a spectacular accident between Ralf Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello,
the aftermath of which forced eight cars to retire from the race.
Webber, who had a problem with his launch control at the start, battled
with a broken differential to fend off the experienced Mika Salo in a
much faster Toyota and finish fifth. The result made Webber just the
fourth Australian F1 driver to score World Championship points, and the
first Minardi driver to score points since Marc Gené in 1999.
Webber
was forced into retirement in the Malaysian Grand Prix, before picking
up consecutive 11th-place finishes in the following two races. He, along
with Yoong, was forced to pull out of the Spanish Grand Prix due to
potentially dangerous wing failures during the weekend.
Webber
picked up two more 11th place finishes, but was unable to score points
for the remainder of the year, his next best result coming in France,
where he finished 8th. In the Hungarian Grand Prix, Webber lost two
kilograms in weight over the length of the race as he was forced to
drive without a drink after his water bottle broke. Webber was able to
outqualify Yoong (and Anthony Davidson, who replaced Yoong for the
Hungarian and Belgian Grands Prix) in every race, and his two points in
Australia were the only points that Minardi scored all season, helping
them to 9th in the Constructors' Championship, ahead of Toyota and
Arrows.Webber's results earned him the "Rookie of the Year" award in F1
Racing magazine's annual Man of the Year awards (receiving 53.70% of
public votes), the Autosport.com "Rookie of the Year" award and "F1
Newcomer of the Year" at the annual Grand Prix Party "Bernie" Awards. In
light of his season, notable Formula One journalist Peter Windsor
related Webber to 1992 World Champion Nigel Mansell, saying they had
similar amounts of "raw talent". In November 2002 it was announced that
Webber would join Jaguar Racing for the following season alongside
Brazilian Williams test driver Antônio Pizzonia.
Jaguar (2003–2004)
2003
Webber's
Jaguar career started disappointingly when he qualified in 14th place
for the Australian Grand Prix before being forced to retire on lap 15
with a rear suspension failure. The following race in Malaysia was
problematic for Webber; Giancarlo Fisichella began reversing towards him
on the starting grid and then Webber's in-car fire extinguisher
discharged into his face. He was eventually forced to retire from 8th
position with an oil consumption problem.
Webber
took provisional pole position in Friday qualifying of the Brazilian
Grand Prix, out-qualifying local driver Rubens Barrichello by 0.138
seconds during a rain-affected session. He continued his good
performance in the Saturday session taking a career-best 3rd on the
grid, Jaguar Racing's best qualifying performance in their four-year
Formula One history. In the race, which was hit heavily by rain, Webber
was in seventh place when he attempted to cool his tyres by driving
through a puddle lying off-line in the final corner. The resultant lack
of grip caused Webber to crash heavily into the pit straight walls,
leaving debris on the track which caused a second major crash; Fernando
Alonso hitting a stray tyre. The race was subsequently red-flagged, and
although Webber was originally classified in 7th, an FIA investigation
found a timekeeping error which meant that Webber was placed 9th in the
re-classification.
Webber's
good qualifying form continued into the San Marino Grand Prix but at
the start of the race he had dropped from 5th to 11th by the first
corner due to a launch control failure that affected both Jaguars. He
retired from the race after 54 laps with a driveshaft failure, his
fourth consecutive non-finish for the year. His luck improved in the
following races though, taking his first points in Spain and signing a
new 2-year contract with the team reportedly worth $US6 million per
season.
He
then went on to score points in five of the next six races on his way
to moving into the top 10 in the World Drivers' Championship, the run of
results interrupted only by an engine failure in Monaco. One of his
best races came in Austria where despite starting from the pitlane and
suffering a drive-through penalty he set the race's third fastest lap,
behind only the Ferraris of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello,
finishing in 7th place.
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| Webber's 2003 helmet design,. |
At
the British Grand Prix, as the procession of cars exited the Becketts
corner onto the Hangar straight on lap 11, now-defrocked priest Neil
Horan cleared the fence wearing a kilt whilst waving banners with the
statements "Read the Bible" and "The Bible is always right". Horan ran
towards the sequence of cars forcing several cars to swerve to avoid
him. Webber came closest to hitting Horan in a terrifying parallel to
the accident at the 1977 South African Grand Prix where volunteer track
marshal, Jansen Van Vuuren, ran across the main straight to aid a car
and was hit at 274 km/h (170 mph) by Welsh driver Tom Pryce. The safety
car was deployed to remove Horan from the track, and Webber eventually
finished 14th.
After
Silverstone, Webber had scored 12 Championship points, compared to
Pizzonia's 0, and after much speculation it was announced that Minardi
driver Justin Wilson would replace the Brazilian for the remainder of
the year. The German Grand Prix saw Webber's sixth retirement of the
season after he made a last lap lunge on Jenson Button in an attempt to
salvage a point from the weekend.
Consecutive
points finishes in Hungary and Italy saw Webber climb to ninth in the
drivers' standings with a 5 point margin over Button. He was unable to
hold onto this position however, after one too many laps on dry tyres
saw him spin out from the lead of the United States Grand Prix, and a
disappointing 11th-place result in Japan. These meant that he had
finished on equal points with Button but lost out on a countback.
Although
Wilson scored a point in the United States Grand Prix, Webber had still
never been outqualified by a team-mate and, late in the year, Jaguar
announced that rookie Christian Klien would team up with Webber for the
2004 season. Webber's results again earned him plaudits in the press,
winning the 2003 "Driver of the Year" award from Autocar magazine.
2004
Continuing
with Jaguar in 2004, Webber qualified sixth for the first race of the
season, the Australian Grand Prix, but faced his second consecutive
retirement from his home race, this time due to a gearbox failure. At
the following race, the Malaysian Grand Prix, Webber produced the best
qualifying performance of his first seven seasons in F1 by splitting the
dominant Ferraris to line up second on the grid. The race was less
rewarding with a near-stall at the start meaning he was well outside the
top 10 by the time the cars reached turn 1. An aggressive lap saw him
move up to ninth place but during an exciting battle with Ralf
Schumacher, they collided, forcing Webber to pit with damage to his
front wing and tyre. In his desperation to make up for the lost time,
Webber exceeded the pitlane speed limit and was handed a drive-through
penalty which left him even further behind. More frustration eventually
led to the end of his race as he spun into the gravel trap on the
outside of the final corner on lap 23.
The
situation improved for the following race in Bahrain though, as Webber
picked up his first point for the season despite a small mistake in
qualifying which left him starting 14th and marked the first time he had
been outqualified by his team-mate in F1. He was unable to continue his
point scoring form, however, as intermittent electrical problems in San
Marino and a lack of grip in Spain meant that he could do no better
than 13th and 12th in those races.
Webber
suffered two engine failures in practice for the Monaco Grand Prix, the
first of which forced Webber to extinguish it himself after being
unable to find a track-side marshal willing to help. In the race, Webber
was forced to retire due to a loss of engine power. He was able to pick
up two Championship points in the following race with a seventh place
finish in the European Grand Prix. Webber had lined up 14th on the grid,
after being handed a one-second penalty for yellow flag infringements
during Friday practice, but was able to move through the field to take
his points tally to 3. After the race, he was criticised by Michael
Schumacher for refusing to yield when Webber had emerged from his pit
stop slightly ahead of (but one lap behind) Schumacher. Upon hearing the
comments, Webber said he "would do exactly the same again" in the same
situation.
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| Webber driving for Jaguar at the 2004 United States Grand Prix, |
There
were consecutive retirements in Canada, where he was hit by Klien, and
the United States where he suffered an oil leak. A change of luck gained
him a 9th place finish in the French Grand Prix and preceded a further
championship point in the British Grand Prix; although his total of 4
points compared unfavourably to his 12 scored by the same time in the
previous season. It was at this stage that former team-mate Pizzonia
returned to racing as a replacement for the injured Ralf Schumacher and
accused Jaguar of favouritism towards Webber during their time as
team-mates saying that Webber received new car parts one or two races
before Pizzonia. The claims were categorically denied by Jaguar boss
David Pitchforth, and whilst Webber did not publicly comment on the
situation at the time he had his best result of the season finishing
sixth in the German Grand Prix, running ahead of Pizzonia for the entire
race. Meanwhile, reports emerged that Jaguar could not guarantee that
they would compete in Formula One for the 2005 season and on 28 July, it
was announced that Webber would drive for WilliamsF1 for 2005 and
beyond. He would later admit this was the team that his "heart was
always set on". Webber was unable to build on his points tally, however,
and 10th place in Hungary followed by a first-lap accident in Belgium
with 9th in Italy and 10th in China saw him sitting 13th in the
Championship.
The
penultimate race of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix saw Webber
produce another good qualifying effort as he set the third fastest time.
His race ended prematurely though when he suffered from a badly
overheating cockpit, the cause of which could not be determined by
Jaguar. The Brazilian Grand Prix marked both Webber's last race for
Jaguar and Jaguar's last race in Formula One, ending sadly for the team,
as Klien turned in to a corner colliding with Webber as the Australian
attempted to make up for a pit stop delay earlier in the race. Webber
was forced to retire due to the damage and watched the remainder of the
race from the grass on the outside of turn 1 as Klien finished 14th.
Williams (2005–2006)
Webber
was granted an early release from his Jaguar contract to be allowed to
test with his new team, Williams, over the winter. Williams had
announced that Jenson Button would drive for the team in 2005 alongside
Webber but, after claims that Button was still contracted to BAR, his
contract with Williams was overturned. With his new team-mate undecided
and going down to a "shootout" between Nick Heidfeld and Pizzonia,
Webber hit back at Pizzonia's claims of unfair treatment during 2003,
claiming the Brazilian was lying and saying he was a "loser" for
believing that there was favouritism towards Webber, comments which led
to a reprimand from his new team.
Heidfeld
was finally announced as Webber's 2005 team-mate at the Williams season
launch on 31 January, with Webber admitting he was pleased with the
eventual decision. Webber's move to Williams brought about comparisons
to Alan Jones, Australia's last F1 World Champion, also in a Williams.
Expectations were high as Webber's former team boss Paul Stoddart
predicted Webber would take his first victory in 2005 while Williams
technical director Sam Michael said Webber would eventually win the
World Championship with Williams.
2005
In
his first race for the team, the Australian Grand Prix, Webber took 3rd
on the grid but was beaten to the first corner by David Coulthard and
eventually finished the race in fifth. His best chance to do so though
came in the following race in Malaysia. After qualifying fourth, Webber
was defending third position having overtaken the Renault of Giancarlo
Fisichella at turn 14. An optimistic Fisichella (who was struggling due
to a lack of downforce and tyre grip) slip streamed Webber on the back
straight and attempted a counter-pass down the inside of turn 15.
Unfortunately, Fisichella locked his brakes and slid into the side of
Webber's car, eliminating both drivers from the race. This allowed
Heidfeld to inherit third place and Fisichella was later reprimanded by
race stewards for causing the incident. It was later revealed that
Webber had competed in the first two races suffering a fractured rib,
from an injury he had sustained during pre-season testing at Barcelona,
though he "didn't want to make a fuss" about it and would be fully fit
in time for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Webber at the 2005 Canadian Grand Prix
After
qualifying fifth in Bahrain, Webber had been as high as third place in
the race but he ultimately finished sixth, taking his points tally to 7
for the season. He followed this up by qualifying fourth and finishing a
disappointing 10th after twice running wide off the track in the San
Marino Grand Prix, although his position was revised to 7th after the
disqualification of the BAR team and a resulting penalty to Ralf
Schumacher. The race was a poor one for Williams (Heidfeld was 9th
before the reclassification), but Webber hit back at the Spanish Grand
Prix, qualifying 2nd and finishing 6th – his fourth points scoring
finish in the first five races.
The
following race in Monaco saw Webber take third place, the first podium
finish of his career. On the rostrum Webber looked noticeably
disappointed with the result after losing second place to team-mate
Heidfeld due to the Williams team pitting Heidfeld before Webber causing
Webber to lose time behind the slow Alonso. Webber had been ahead of
Heidfeld for most of the race and would probably still have been second
had the team pitted them in the more regular sequence. This best result
of Webber's career was followed by one of his worst at the European
Grand Prix when, after qualifying third, he locked his brakes in the
very first corner of the race and collided with Juan Pablo Montoya,
forcing him to retire. Heidfeld started from pole position to finish in
second place overtaking Webber in championship points in the process.
The
race in Canada was affected by this previous result, as Webber was only
able to qualify 14th, but he was pleased with an eventual 5th-place
finish and a further 4 Championship points. The United States Grand Prix
was the beginning of a lean streak for Webber with just one
point-scoring finish in the next seven races, a seventh in Hungary, and
by this stage he had slipped from 6th to 10th in the World Championship.
Webber had another poor race in Turkey where he collided with Michael
Schumacher after the German changed lines in the braking area, causing
extensive damage to both cars.
With
Heidfeld injured, Webber's former Jaguar team-mate Antônio Pizzonia
stepped into the second Williams seat adding pressure on Webber to
perform well given the public argument the pair had towards the end of
2004. The Italian Grand Prix saw Pizzonia driving to seventh whilst
Webber was caught up in a first-corner incident which led to him
finishing 14th. The roles were reversed for the following race in
Belgium as Webber finished in fourth place and Pizzonia retired after a
collision with Juan Pablo Montoya in the closing laps. With rumours
spreading that Heidfeld had in fact signed with BMW Sauber for the 2006
season, Pizzonia continued in the race seat, and in the Brazilian Grand
Prix, was clipped by David Coulthard in turn one. The contact caused
Pizzonia to spin into the path of Webber forcing extensive repairs to
the Australian's car. Webber took 17th place, setting the 8th fastest
lap of the race, but was not classified as a finisher.
The
final two races of the season saw Webber take 4th and 7th to
consolidate his 10th place in the Drivers' Championship. Webber
described the 2005 season as "frustrating" and acknowledged that his
reputation had somewhat diminished but opted to stay on with Williams
despite an offer from BMW Sauber. Webber's team-mate for 2006 would be
German Nico Rosberg, becoming the seventh driver to partner Webber since
2002.
Webber was awarded the Lorenzo Bandini Trophy in 2006 for his 2005 season.
2006
Webber driving at the 2006 French Grand Prix
For
the first time in Webber's career the first race of the season was not
held in Melbourne, but in Bahrain, due to the original date clashing
with the Commonwealth Games. Webber qualified 7th and had a solid race
to finish 6th and pick up 3 Championship points. Although Webber was
considered by some to have the better race performance,this was
generally overlooked when Rosberg set the fastest lap in his debut race
and moved up through the field despite a first-lap incident.
Webber's
two following races in Malaysia and Australia were cut short due to
mechanical problems. In Malaysia, Webber started 4th on the grid and was
still running in that position before a hydraulics failure ended his
race on lap 14. In his home race, Webber qualified seventh and was
leading the race before his gearbox failed on lap 22. A sixth-place
finish in San Marino saw Webber move up to 9th in the Championship. In
the European Grand Prix, hydraulics failure struck again ending his race
after he had fought his way back to 12th from his 19th place start on
the grid due to a mid-weekend engine change.
The
Spanish Grand Prix marked the first time Webber failed to make the top
10 cut-off in the new qualifying system and he struggled during the race
finishing ninth. Monaco, however, saw a huge improvement with Webber
qualifying on the front row, after Michael Schumacher's grid penalty,
holding third for a large part of the race before retiring when his
exhaust burned a wiring loom. Webber's car was not as disadvantaged as
at most other venues, as aerodynamic efficiency is not as important at
Monaco.
At
the British Grand Prix, Webber was taken out on the first lap after an
incident with Ralf Schumacher and Scott Speed. In France, Webber
suffered a spectacular tyre blowout at maximum speed which he managed to
control and return to the pits, parking in the garage. Germany was one
of Webber's strongest races of the year where he was on target for a
podium finish until mechanical failure stopped him with only 9 laps to
go. The Hungarian Grand Prix was another retirement for Webber as he
slid into a barrier in the wet conditions and crushed his front wing
under the chassis of the Williams. He finished only 10th in Turkey,
where despite running fourth after a first-lap accident, he struggled
from then on.
After
another disappointing qualifying session at the Italian Grand Prix
where he qualified 19th, he finished in tenth place. In China, Webber
scored Williams' first point since Rosberg's 7th in the European Grand
Prix by finishing eighth, after passing the struggling David Coulthard
in the closing stages of the race, after qualifying 14th. He qualified
in the same position in Japan, but a lack of grip from his Bridgestone
tyres saw him crash out of the race after 39 laps. His last race for
Williams and the final race of 2006 at the Brazilian Grand Prix ended in
disappointment. After starting 11th, he contrived to collide with his
team-mate Rosberg on the first lap and suffered terminal damage to the
rear of the car. As a result, Rosberg had a big shunt at the end of the
lap. Overall, it was a generally dismal season for Webber, scoring only 7
points to finish 14th overall in the drivers championship.
Red Bull Racing (2007–present)
Webber's
two-year contract with Williams ended at the end of 2006. The team held
an option on his services for 2007 which they choose not to take up on
its original terms and although Webber had expressed his desire to stay
with the team, Williams offered Webber a considerably smaller salary
than had been stipulated in the original contract for the option year.
Under advice from his manager, Flavio Briatore, Webber then sought
another drive. Williams quickly elected to promote current test driver
Alexander Wurz to a race seat. Williams team boss Sir Frank Williams
stated that he was reluctant to wait for Webber to commit to the team
once the option for future years had expired, though he did not blame
Webber for waiting to see if there was a seat available at another team.
After
some speculation of Webber joining the Renault team, which was run by
Briatore, it was announced on 7 August 2006 that Webber would join Red
Bull Racing for 2007 to partner David Coulthard, replacing former Jaguar
Racing team mate Christian Klien. It is rumoured that Briatore arranged
an agreement with Red Bull that, if they offered Webber a race seat,
Renault would supply them with engines. On 26 January 2007 the new Red
Bull RB3 challenger was unveiled in Spain, and Webber drove the car in a
shakedown in Barcelona on the same day. The car featured heavy
revisions to the team's previous cars and looked very much like designer
Adrian Newey's previous cars which had either won or come close to the
World Title. The car was fitted with a Renault RS27 engine.
2007
At
the first race of the season in Melbourne, Webber qualified in 7th
place and held that position for the early part of the race, managing to
finish in 13th position after the RB3 suffered from a throttle-related
malfunction and a jammed fuel flap. At the Malaysian Grand Prix, he
again out-qualified his more experienced team-mate Coulthard and
finished tenth, which was encouraging for the team in such a new and
radical car. Bahrain was also going well for both drivers, who were
running in sixth and seventh positions, until both cars retired due to
mechanical malfunctions. Webber again was hampered by the aforementioned
jammed fuel flap, radically affecting the aerodynamic drag, a vital
set-up consideration for the Sakhir circuit.
Webber driving for RBR at the 2007 British Grand Prix, with a special Wings for Life livery
The
potential of both the car and Webber, who had certainly worked well to
out-qualify his vastly more experienced team-mate, was highlighted by
the closeness they had to other teams which ran the Renault engine and
although the Adrian Newey-designed car had flaws which contributed to
Webber's scoreless season to that point. Though the pace of the car
seemed to be picking up, with Coulthard qualifying in the top-10 for the
Spanish Grand Prix, Webber was unable to convert his early weekend pace
into a competitive grid position due to hydraulic problems. His race
was much the same with a similar hydraulic problem leading to him
retiring early in the race whilst team-mate Coulthard notched up the
team's first points with a fifth place finish.
Webber
finally recorded the second podium of his career at the European Grand
Prix after qualifying in 6th position. A rain spiced race and the
retirement of Kimi Räikkönen, who was running third at the time, allowed
Webber to claim third on the podium despite almost losing the position
on the penultimate corner as he battled with Alexander Wurz.
Webber driving for Red Bull Racing at the 2007 French Grand Prix
His
best chance at winning a race occurred at the Japanese Grand Prix
where, in the wet conditions, Webber ran in 2nd place, setting the 3rd
fastest lap of the race after the two McLarens. Towards the end of the
race, Webber was running 2nd behind Lewis Hamilton, with no further pit
stops to make, when Sebastian Vettel, driver for sister team Scuderia
Toro Rosso, ran into the back of him when Hamilton suddenly reduced his
speed in poor visibility and heavy rain under a safety car, taking both
cars out of the race. He had been lapping faster than Hamilton due to
damage on the McLaren's sidepod from contact with Robert Kubica. Out of
the current Formula One drivers, until his win at the 2009 German Grand
Prix, Webber has had the second highest number of starts without a win,
and is often referred to as the "unluckiest man in modern Formula One", a
title that was reinforced in Japan as Webber started the race suffering
from food poisoning and vomited inside his helmet during the first
safety car period. When questioned by ITV's Louise Goodman about the
race ending collision Webber commented: "Well it's kids, isn't it. Kids
with not enough experience, doing a good job then they fuck it all up,"
referring to Vettel running into the back of him behind the safety car.
Webber
again looked strong at the final race of the season in Brazil. Webber
qualified fifth in front of both BMW Saubers and behind only the
Ferraris and McLarens. Webber looked strong in the race, running as high
as fourth, before yet another mechanical failure brought an end to a
disappointing but promising season for the Australian.
2008
Webber driving for Red Bull Racing at the 2008 French Grand Prix
As
per his contract, Webber started the year in Melbourne with Red Bull
Racing. He recorded top-six lap times in each of the three practice
sessions, and was on his way to the top ten in the qualifying session
when the front right brake disc in his car failed going into turn 6
during Q2, sending him spinning off into the sand trap ending his
qualifying session, and resulting in 15th position on the grid. Although
starting well, he momentarily went off the track at turn 1 to avoid
being involved in contact that had already erupted. Webber made several
positions by turn 3 but an incident involving himself, Kazuki Nakajima
and Anthony Davidson when he was slightly contacted by Davidson whilst
trying to avoid the struggle between the other two drivers, ended his
race.
Despite
the retirement in Australia, the next 5 rounds saw a string of
point-scoring positions, including a 4th at Monaco in the wet, one of
the few finishers not to have made a mistake and subsequent pit-in,
however his performance was overshadowed by Hamilton's win. Until 2009,
this was Webber's best start to an F1 season since 2005 with Williams,
managing five consecutive points scoring races.
On
the Thursday of the British Grand Prix weekend, it was announced that
Webber had agreed to a one year extension to his contract at Red Bull
Racing, leaving him contracted there until the end of the 2009 season.
During qualifying for the Grand Prix, Webber equalled his best
qualifying position with 2nd position on the grid, in front of Kimi
Räikkönen and behind pole position-holder Heikki Kovalainen. As a result
of Timo Glock's penalty from the Belgian Grand Prix for illegally
passing Webber under yellow flags in the final lap(s) of the race,
Webber was awarded 8th place and the point that came with it.
At
the first night race in Formula One, the Singapore Grand Prix, Webber
qualified in 13th position. Red Bull pulled in both Webber and David
Coulthard for their pit stops as soon as they could when the safety car
came on track, due to Nelson Piquet, Jr. crashing, giving them both
great track position. This led to Webber running in 2nd place before a
gearbox issue put him out of the race on lap 29.
Webber
qualified 13th at the Japanese Grand Prix. After some first corner
incidents he was stranded in last place; from there he progressed up the
order, at one point in time sitting in fourth. Following his pit stop
he emerged in 10th, with Nick Heidfeld and Nico Rosberg yet to pit, from
where he continued to push, regained 8th once the two drivers in 8th
and 9th both went in for their final pit stops. With two laps to go,
Webber's tyres were close to bald – being compared to slicks. Losing
almost 3 seconds a lap to the chasing Ferrari of Felipe Massa, who was
on fresh tyres, he defended his point vigorously. Pressured by the
Ferrari, he was out-powered by the superior engine of Massa and although
great attempts at saving his place were shown, he finished in a
hard-fought 9th position, on a one stop strategy which was then upgraded
to 8th position after a post-race penalty to Sébastien Bourdais.
In
China, Webber's engine failed on the home straight during the final
practice session leaving him with a ten-place grid penalty. During
qualifying on Saturday afternoon, he ended in 6th after Heidfeld was
demoted for impeding Webber's team-mate Coulthard, and so Webber had to
start from 16th after his penalty. Webber was on the grid in 16th and
managed to end the first lap up four places in 12th before taking the
11th position off Glock on the second lap. By the first pit stop, Webber
had overtaken Rubens Barrichello and Piquet Jr. for 9th place, but
inevitably dropped back once he had entered the pits. The two-stop
strategy that the team had adopted was not successful and Webber
finished in 14th place. The Brazilian Grand Prix was team-mate
Coulthard's last race before his retirement from F1. Practice was close
with the leading seven cars, including Webber in 7th, being less than a
second apart. In Saturday afternoon qualifying, Webber managed 10th on
the grid, and finished the race in 9th position.
Webber
finished the season in 11th place in the Drivers' Championship with a
total of 21 points, his most successful season after 2005 at Williams at
that point in time.
2009
Mark Webber driving for Red Bull Racing at the 2009 Turkish Grand Prix
Webber
remained with Red Bull for 2009, where he was joined by Sebastian
Vettel after David Coulthard's retirement at the end of 2008. After
sustaining a broken leg in a road accident during his charity event in
Tasmania in the off-season, he returned to testing on February 11 with
steel rods in his leg.
At
the opening round in Australia, an error in qualifying left him in 10th
on the grid for the start of the race. An incident with Rubens
Barrichello, Heikki Kovalainen and Nick Heidfeld saw Webber in a damaged
vehicle for the remainder of the race, eventually finishing last under
the safety car. Post-race, Webber related his disappointment for not
being able to perform well at his home GP after recovering from his
broken leg.
The
Malaysian Grand Prix saw Webber qualify seventh and gain two positions
due to penalties to other drivers. The race, which was halted early due
to monsoonal rains, ended under the safety car with Webber in fourth. He
was provisionally placed eighth, but further investigation brought his
position up to sixth. He was awarded 1.5 points due to the half-points
decision at the conclusion of the race. The Chinese Grand Prix proved a
breakthrough for Webber. Starting in third position, the race began
under the safety car due to heavy rain. Webber eventually brought his
car home in second position, marking Webber's career-best finish and was
also the first win (and 1–2 finish) for the Red Bull team.
Webber won his first Formula One race at the 2009 German Grand Prix
The
Spanish Grand Prix saw Webber qualify fifth fastest and finish third,
and he took fifth in Monaco. He followed this up with his equal career
best second place in Turkey, equalling this result in the subsequent
British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Webber
qualified on pole for the first time in Formula One at the Nürburgring
for the German Grand Prix. This was the first time an Australian driver
had claimed pole position since Alan Jones in 1980. He went on to
achieve his first Formula One victory despite receiving a drive through
penalty early in the race for causing an avoidable collision at the
start when he hit the Brawn GP of Rubens Barrichello. Webber went on to
dominate the race and win ahead of his teammate Vettel, heading a Red
Bull 1–2 and closing the gap to the Brawns in the Constructors'
Championship. Webber moved up to third in the drivers' championship
after his win, at that time his best position in Formula One, passing
Barrichello in the championship standings.
On
23 July, Webber signed a new contract committing him to the Red Bull
team for the 2010 Formula One season. Three days later, he finished
third in Hungary, moving into second place in the Drivers' Championship.
Webber also set his first ever fastest lap in Formula One. On 21
September 2009 the FIA banned Webber's manager, Flavio Briatore, from
all FIA related activities and announced that it would not renew the
superlicence for any driver managed or otherwise associated with
Briatore. Since then, Briatore has been reinstated into Formula One and
negotiations concerning management has since been declared legal.
Following
his podium at the Hungarian Grand Prix, two ninth placings, two
retirements and an unlucky Japanese Grand Prix saw Webber drop to fourth
in the Championship, collecting no points. However, he went on to win
his second Formula One race in Brazil, starting from second position on
the grid, securing fourth place in the 2009 Championship. In the final
race of the season, Webber managed second behind teammate Vettel. The
result was Red Bull Racing's fourth 1–2 result of the season.
2010
Webber achieved his second pole position in Malaysia, but finished behind team-mate Sebastian Vettel in second position.
In
2010, Webber continued to race with Red Bull. He qualified for pole
position five times (in Malaysia, Spain, MonacoTurkey and Belgium); won
four races (Spain, Monaco, Britain and Hungary); finished second in
Malaysia, Belgium, Japan and Brazil and third in Turkey and Singapore.
After the Turkish Grand Prix, Webber led the drivers' championship, the
first Australian to do so since Alan Jones in 1981. In June 2010, Red
Bull Racing announced that Webber had signed a one-year extension to his
contract, meaning that he will remain with the team for the 2011
season.
At
the European Grand Prix, Webber crashed into the back of Heikki
Kovalainen's Lotus while approaching turn 12 on the ninth lap, flipping
his car and crashing into the tyre barrier. Webber received only minor
injuries, but retired from the race. This was reminiscent of two aerial
backward flips he had at the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz CLR at the 1999 24
Hours of Le Mans.
Webber
eventually finished the season in third, behind Vettel and Alonso,
having led until the Korean Grand Prix when he crashed out in the early
stages. Webber could have won the championship at the final race in Abu
Dhabi had he won the race and Alonso had finished no higher than third.
Webber's teammate Vettel clinched the title with victory. Despite the
disappointment, Webber confirmed that he would return with Red Bull in
2011.
In
December 2010, Webber revealed in his new book 'Up Front – 2010, A
Season To Remember' that he raced the last four events of the season
with a small fracture in his right shoulder, the result of a mountain
bike crash sustained while riding at Lysterfield Park in Melbourne, the
week before the Japanese Grand Prix. He was on his first mountain bike
ride since his Tasmanian accident in 2008 when he crashed trying to
avoid a fallen riding companion.
Outside motorsport
Webber
lives in Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire, England with his girlfriend
Ann Neal, and her grown-up son Luke, from a previous relationship.]
Outside motorsport, Webber enjoys "most outdoor pursuits" including road
cycling, mountain biking, tennis and fitness training. He has won the
annual F1 Pro-Am tennis tournament in Barcelona three times (2002, 2004
and 2005) and was also runner-up to Juan Pablo Montoya in 2003. Webber
is an avid rugby league fan, supporting the Canberra Raiders, as well as
being a football fan, supporting English Premier League club
Sunderland.His favorite bands are Pink, Oasis, INXS and U2.
Charity Challenge
Route map for Webber's 2003 Challenge
In
November 2003, Webber organised and competed in a 10-day trek across
Tasmania in an attempt to raise funds for children's cancer research
charities. Starting in Marrawah on the state's west coast, the trek
involved 1,000 km of cycling, kayaking and trekking along the southern
coast and finished at Coles Bay in the east. Four teams of four
competitors each started the trek, with only two teams (including
Webber's) completing the entire journey. Along the way, Australian
sporting stars Pat Rafter, Steve Waugh, Cathy Freeman, James Tomkins,
Guy Andrews and actor Joel Edgerton completed certain parts of the trek.
The challenge concluded with a black tie dinner and auction to raise
funds. Webber said he was driven to organise the event after the death
of his grandfather to cancer, as well as his experiences with friends
whose children had battled the disease.
With
Webber's switch from Jaguar to Williams at the end of 2004, the
challenge was postponed until 2006, when he was able to secure a
three-year deal with the Tasmanian Government to hold the event. The
2006 event (now named the "Mark Webber Pure Tasmania Challenge") was
held over six days and covered nearly 600 km. Twelve teams competed in
the event, and it raised A$500,000 for children's charities.
The
2007 Mark Webber Pure Tasmania Challenge was launched at the 2007
Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne when Webber was joined by sports
stars and Kylie Minogue, and Hollywood star Anthony Edwards. The trek
was another gruelling physical and mental adventure race about Tasmania
in aid of charity but albeit with a new format. Teams competed for
honours in two unique categories: the Van Diemen Cup – designed
exclusively for corporate teams of four people, and the 2theXtreme Cup –
a two person elite team entry. Both categories trekked, kayaked and
cycled alongside each other as they covered approximately 450 km through
World Heritage wilderness and along the idyllic coast of the Freycinet
National Park. It was held from 17–23 November, and for the first time,
one of Webber's fellow Formula One drivers, Heikki Kovalainen, joined
him in the challenge.
During
the 2008 event, Webber broke his leg when his bike collided with a car.
He did not suffer any other injuries, but had a pin inserted into his
broken bone.
The event was not held in 2009 or 2010.
On
1 December 2010, it was announced that the Challenge would return in
2011. Tourism Tasmania, Mark Webber Challenge Management and Octagon
Australia will partner to bring the Challenge back for 2011, 2012 and
2013.
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