It has been one of the worst kept secrets in recent Formula One history but today (June 27th) Mark Webber announced that he will leave the sport at the end of 2013.
The Australian racer, who is a popular figure amongst the paddock and who I had the pleasure of meeting just the other day at Red Bull's #OPENHOUSE event, will front Porsche's sportscar programme as they attempt to tackle the Le Mans 24 Hour race.
Webber did have the option to stay with Red Bull in 2014, boss Dietrich Mateschitz was adamant that a space was available, alongside a potential vacancy at Lotus but feels that it is time to tackle new challenges.
He joined the sport fresh faced in 2001 with Minardi, scoring points on his race debut. He then moved to Jaguar before claiming his first podium finish with Williams during his time with the team between 2005 and 2006. The 36-year-old then moved to Red Bull Racing in 2007 where he has stayed ever since.
The Aussie scored all nine career race wins with the Milton Keynes based squad alongside the majority of his 36 career podium finishes.
He is a popular guy around the paddock and is known for his relaxed and humorous personality alongside his honesty. Out on track, he is known to be a tough but fair racer. His new Porsche contract will "extend over several years" and will see him return to a sport that he raced in prior to his F1 career.
Speaking in a statement on the move, Webber described it as an "honour" to drive for Porsche in their LMP1 car before adding: "Porsche has written racing history as a manufacturer and stands for outstanding technology and performance at the highest level. I'm very much looking forward to this new challenge after my time in Formula One. Porsche will undoubtedly set itself very high goals. I can hardly wait to pilot one of the fastest sports cars in the world."
Webber will front the German manufacturers LMP1 campaign in the Le Mans and World Endurance Championship alongside Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas as they look to return to their former winning ways - they have previously won the iconic race 16 times and last took the top step in 1998.
He is an experienced hand when racing at Le Mans though, after driving for Mercedes in 1998 and 1999 prior to his debut in Formula One.
The move out of Formula One had been the talk of heavy speculation since Malaysia where tensions boilded within the team. His relationship with team-mate Sebastian Vettel has always been flawed but the second round of the 2013 season was all too much after the German ignored orders to stay behind Webber - who was leading the race - and overtook him to take the lead.
Webber was furious with the move and since then, doubt has been cast over whether he would stay with the team or not. As the Aussie now departs arguably the best seat in Formula One, Kimi Raikkonen is the lead contender to replace him with Toro Rosso's driver pairing of Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne also in contention.
Wolfgang Hatz -Board Member for Research and Development at Porsche - said on the news: "I'm very please to have secured Mark Webber for our LMP1 project as one of the best and most successful Formula One pilots of our time. Mark is without doubt one of the world's best race drivers, he has experience at the Le Mans 24 hours race and on top of that he's been a Porsche enthusiast for many years."
With the speculation now over and the move to Porsche officially announced, I find myself thinking that the sport will definitely be a duller place without Mark. He's a real people person and is a favourite with media, fans and teams a like. He is highly respected and I wish him luck for the future.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
Webber did have the option to stay with Red Bull in 2014, boss Dietrich Mateschitz was adamant that a space was available, alongside a potential vacancy at Lotus but feels that it is time to tackle new challenges.
He joined the sport fresh faced in 2001 with Minardi, scoring points on his race debut. He then moved to Jaguar before claiming his first podium finish with Williams during his time with the team between 2005 and 2006. The 36-year-old then moved to Red Bull Racing in 2007 where he has stayed ever since.
The Aussie scored all nine career race wins with the Milton Keynes based squad alongside the majority of his 36 career podium finishes.
He is a popular guy around the paddock and is known for his relaxed and humorous personality alongside his honesty. Out on track, he is known to be a tough but fair racer. His new Porsche contract will "extend over several years" and will see him return to a sport that he raced in prior to his F1 career.
Speaking in a statement on the move, Webber described it as an "honour" to drive for Porsche in their LMP1 car before adding: "Porsche has written racing history as a manufacturer and stands for outstanding technology and performance at the highest level. I'm very much looking forward to this new challenge after my time in Formula One. Porsche will undoubtedly set itself very high goals. I can hardly wait to pilot one of the fastest sports cars in the world."
Webber will front the German manufacturers LMP1 campaign in the Le Mans and World Endurance Championship alongside Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas as they look to return to their former winning ways - they have previously won the iconic race 16 times and last took the top step in 1998.
He is an experienced hand when racing at Le Mans though, after driving for Mercedes in 1998 and 1999 prior to his debut in Formula One.
The move out of Formula One had been the talk of heavy speculation since Malaysia where tensions boilded within the team. His relationship with team-mate Sebastian Vettel has always been flawed but the second round of the 2013 season was all too much after the German ignored orders to stay behind Webber - who was leading the race - and overtook him to take the lead.
Webber was furious with the move and since then, doubt has been cast over whether he would stay with the team or not. As the Aussie now departs arguably the best seat in Formula One, Kimi Raikkonen is the lead contender to replace him with Toro Rosso's driver pairing of Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne also in contention.
Wolfgang Hatz -Board Member for Research and Development at Porsche - said on the news: "I'm very please to have secured Mark Webber for our LMP1 project as one of the best and most successful Formula One pilots of our time. Mark is without doubt one of the world's best race drivers, he has experience at the Le Mans 24 hours race and on top of that he's been a Porsche enthusiast for many years."
With the speculation now over and the move to Porsche officially announced, I find myself thinking that the sport will definitely be a duller place without Mark. He's a real people person and is a favourite with media, fans and teams a like. He is highly respected and I wish him luck for the future.
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