Webber dismisses sports car switch talk

MANAMA (AFP) –

Red Bull Racing’s Australian driver Mark Webber sits in the pits on April 19, 2013 at the Bahrain International Circuit in Manama. Webber on Friday played down speculation that he was ready to quit Formula One for a career in sportscars.

Australia’s Mark Webber on Friday played down speculation that he was ready to quit Formula One for a career in sportscars.

Webber has cut a forlorn figure in the world championship this season after the controversy of the Malaysian Grand Prix when Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel ignored team orders to snatch victory.

Webber, who will take part in his 200th grand prix in Bahrain this weekend, has already been linked with a move to Porsche to race at the Le Mans 24 Hour Race.

“People are putting two and two together and getting a bit more than they should do,” Webber told the BBC.

“I’m looking forward to this year. As long as you’re competitive and can get work, which is not a big issue for me at the moment, things are going well.”

On his future with Red Bull in the 2014 championship, Webber added: “That’s a good question. I still enjoy driving the cars. The tyres have made it a little bit more challenging – the job as a driver has changed a bit for sure, the camaraderie is massive.

“That’s a big factor in this sport. This stuff (the speculation that surrounds F1), you get a bit long in the tooth for that.

“As you get older you get less tolerant of other aspects of the job but ultimately the drug is still very powerful, to drive you to do the job you wanted to do in the first place which is driving the car.”