Mark Webber: The ultimate team man

Mark Webber

“And Mark Webber crosses the line in Brazil for the last time, thank you Mark Webber.”

He finished his career with a fastest lap in Brazil. Many were questioning his decision to retire after an impressive display during the end of his career as he took a podium finish in 4 out of his last 5 races.

Mark Webber will always remain an underachiever in F1 partly due to the fact that he had arguably the best driver over the past 5 years on his team which denied him a World Title.

As a young driver, Webber began his career at Minardi and drove an impressive debut race as he finished 5th after qualifying 18th and had a decent year from there on but nothing to boast about. Later that year it was confirmed that the Australian would move to Jaguar where he scored 17 out of their 18 points and finished an impressive 10th in the driver’s standings.

The next year was a poor one for Webber as he struggled at Jaguar and eventually moved to Williams where he scored 36 points in his first season with only one podium in Monaco. Webber was struggling due to the lack of competitiveness of the Williams car. The next season was even worse for the Oz as he retired in more races than he finished.

He then made his move to Red Bull, where he struggled due to an unresponsive car throughout the first two seasons. Questions were beginning to be asked if this man would ever live up to the billing. Mark Webber came a respectable 5th in 2009 as he claimed the team’s maiden win in Germany.

The arrival of ‘Baby Schumi’ in 2010 was one that found Mark Webber losing out on the title despite wins in Spain, Monaco, Britain and Hungary due to poor pit strategy and step-motherly treatment. He was ahead of Vettel going into the summer break but finished third that season. He was out qualified and outraced by Vettel on all but one occasion and had a dismal season in 2011 but finished third overall. He looked good in 2012 but lost out in the latter stages finishing a dismal sixth.

2013 was breaking point for Webber. He was leading in Malaysia and Vettel was asked not to overtake, Vettel ignored team orders and took the race. The season then shaped up to be ‘Vettel’s season’ causing Webber to receive more step motherly treatment that resulted in him deciding that it was time to move on.

Webber will be remembered as a loyal, honest driver who gave it his all. Most fans were surprised that he hung up his boots this early. He’ll be remembered as the man who always stepped aside for the good of his team, and helped his ‘cocky’ teammate win the 2012 title despite their personal issues.

He will feel upset that he retired without a driver’s championship but in F1 you never know, Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen all returned after retirement. So if you’re a Mark Webber fan, keep calm and wait till he returns, because I have a feeling that he just might.

Leaving you with his stress busting technique , “Hanging out with the dogs, whether it’s ragging with them on the lawn or taking them for a walk.”