Mark Webber will compete in his final Formula 1 race at this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix. The popular Aussie will leave the sport and switch to a new challenge with Porsche in the World Endurance Championship.
He doesn't have any regrets about leaving in 2013 and is looking forward to the new chapter in his career.
The 36-year-old made his F1 debut back in 2002 for backmarkers Minardi. He benefited from a chaotic first lap at the Australian Grand Prix to score points on his debut. However, he had to wait 21 races for his second points finish after moving to Jaguar for 2003.
He stayed with the team for 2004 but decided to make the switch to Williams for 2005. Two disappointing seasons saw him return to Milton Keynes and Jaguar, who had since transformed into Red Bull Racing, for 2007. The new regulations for 2009 moved the team to the front of the field and he narrowly missed out on the world title in 2010 after four race wins.
Webber won his first race of 2011 at the season finale in Brazil and finished third in the drivers' standings after a very consistent year. 2012 wasn't quite so strong despite yielding two victories and 2013 has, so far, proved to be a difficult and winless season.
After over 200 starts in Formula 1, he will return to sportscar racing (which he competed in before his F1 career) for Porsche. But does he have any regrets over exiting the sport at the end of 2013? "Of course not," he told the official F1 website. "It’s been great, but I need the next chapter now."
When asked what his best memories are from his time in the sport, he replied: "Getting into Formula One - that without doubt was a massive moment for me. I got there in quite a tough way. For many, many years I was trying to break into Formula One and finally got there - that was super rewarding for me to get there on merit. My first contract was for three races! I didn’t do too badly, and now, 250 races later, I can say I’ve survived."
He continued: "Your first win is another massive event. You do win in all the categories below Formula One - as that is the entrance ticket that you need - but then to win in Formula One is a whole different matter. And more importantly, I won in my own style. Special moments were winning Monte Carlo and Silverstone. Of course on the other hand not winning the 2010 title was one of the toughest moments - but that’s life: if you shoot for the stars you sometimes miss!
"So yes, that was very disappointing, but I am still super proud of taking the fight for the title until the very last race. And it was not an easy year fighting for the title. Ha, I did not pick the easy year - I did not pick a ‘Jenson’ year! I picked the year after, which was pretty tough. But if you have such a long career you have many tough moments. Valencia - a big crash there - and the Williams times - difficult moments - but that’s part of a driver’s life if you do 12 years in that sport: you do have ups and downs."
Webber admits that he wants to find a better balance away from racing, which sportscar racing will enable him to do: "You have to let go. I accept that I am a not super young any more. I want a different environment, a different series - to get a bit more balance. Most of the decision is for the off-track stuff. You want to have more balance away from the racing."
 |
| (c) Octane Photographic |
The 36-year-old made his F1 debut back in 2002 for backmarkers Minardi. He benefited from a chaotic first lap at the Australian Grand Prix to score points on his debut. However, he had to wait 21 races for his second points finish after moving to Jaguar for 2003.
He stayed with the team for 2004 but decided to make the switch to Williams for 2005. Two disappointing seasons saw him return to Milton Keynes and Jaguar, who had since transformed into Red Bull Racing, for 2007. The new regulations for 2009 moved the team to the front of the field and he narrowly missed out on the world title in 2010 after four race wins.
Webber won his first race of 2011 at the season finale in Brazil and finished third in the drivers' standings after a very consistent year. 2012 wasn't quite so strong despite yielding two victories and 2013 has, so far, proved to be a difficult and winless season.
After over 200 starts in Formula 1, he will return to sportscar racing (which he competed in before his F1 career) for Porsche. But does he have any regrets over exiting the sport at the end of 2013? "Of course not," he told the official F1 website. "It’s been great, but I need the next chapter now."
When asked what his best memories are from his time in the sport, he replied: "Getting into Formula One - that without doubt was a massive moment for me. I got there in quite a tough way. For many, many years I was trying to break into Formula One and finally got there - that was super rewarding for me to get there on merit. My first contract was for three races! I didn’t do too badly, and now, 250 races later, I can say I’ve survived."
He continued: "Your first win is another massive event. You do win in all the categories below Formula One - as that is the entrance ticket that you need - but then to win in Formula One is a whole different matter. And more importantly, I won in my own style. Special moments were winning Monte Carlo and Silverstone. Of course on the other hand not winning the 2010 title was one of the toughest moments - but that’s life: if you shoot for the stars you sometimes miss!
"So yes, that was very disappointing, but I am still super proud of taking the fight for the title until the very last race. And it was not an easy year fighting for the title. Ha, I did not pick the easy year - I did not pick a ‘Jenson’ year! I picked the year after, which was pretty tough. But if you have such a long career you have many tough moments. Valencia - a big crash there - and the Williams times - difficult moments - but that’s part of a driver’s life if you do 12 years in that sport: you do have ups and downs."
Webber admits that he wants to find a better balance away from racing, which sportscar racing will enable him to do: "You have to let go. I accept that I am a not super young any more. I want a different environment, a different series - to get a bit more balance. Most of the decision is for the off-track stuff. You want to have more balance away from the racing."
No comments:
Post a Comment