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Written by Jason Barlow
Mark Webber"s path to Formula One looks rather old-fashioned in retrospect. The much-loved, highly respected and straight-talking Australian certainly put in the hours: karts and Formula Ford in his home-land, winner of the Formula Ford festival in Europe in 1996, fourth in the British Formula 3 championship in 1997, a member of the Mercedes-Benz sportscar squad in 1998 and 1999 (Webber became memorably airborne at Le Mans in "99), through to Formula 3000 in 2000 and 2001. It"s an old-school CV.Webber, now 40, also arrived in motorsport"s premier division without having netted a major title en route. This never bothered him; instead there"s a consistency to the man and his performances (it"s a quality he greatly admires), matched with a rugged self-belief. He"s not a silver spoon racing driver he"s a grafter. Speaking to me back in 2004, he also plumped for Prost over Gilles Villeneuve ("fun to watch, yeah, but who had the bigger trophy cabinet?") That"s the man in a nutshell.He"s also highly persuasive. In 1997, Australian rugby legend David Campese helped fund his faltering F3 career, and in 2001 the not-easily-pleased Flavio Briatore saw enough potential during his Benetton test to not only sign him as official (Renault) test driver, but also to a personal management contract. And then there"s luck, which plays a bigger part in F1 than anyone ever seems prepared to admit. Webber got lucky at Melbourne in 2002, becoming one of a very select coterie of drivers to have scored points in his debut Grand Prix, racing for perennial back-marker Minardi (others to have managed it include Alain Prost, Jackie Stewart and, er, Eddie Irvine). Webber moved to Jaguar Racing in 2003, where the team"s struggle to move forward didn"t disguise his obvious ability and dogged approach."If the car is A1, then 70 per cent of the guys could drive it very quickly," Webber"s former Jaguar Racing chief mechanic Alan Maybin told me. "But having the ability to turn a less than perfect car into an A1 car is a different story. Mark definitely has that ability."Webber went on to drive for Williams, before joining Red Bull in 2007. It was there that his career finally delivered on all the promise he had shown, netting nine victories, and finishing third in the driver"s world championship on three separate occasions. In 2010, he really should have won the title, only to be outpointed by teammate and nemesis, Sebastian Vettel. It was a pattern he couldn"t break.He retired from F1 at the end of 2013, and landed the most coveted seat in the World Endurance Championship, driving for Porsche"s long-awaited new LMP1 programme. Together with Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley, he won seven WEC rounds, and lifted the drivers" title last year. Only the top step of the Le Mans podium eluded him, and we suspect that 2015"s second place finish will probably only bring him partial satisfaction.Of his decision to retire from motorsport, prematurely in TopGear.com"s opinion, he has this to say: "I will miss the sheer speed, downforce and competition, but I want to leave on a high and I"m very much looking forward to my new tasks."It was a big change from F1 to LMP1 and an entirely new experience. But it came at the right time for me. I found I liked sharing a car and the chemistry between Timo, Brendon and me is special and something I"ll always remember. It will be strange getting into the race car for the very last time in Bahrain, but for now I will thoroughly enjoy every moment of the remaining races."
Date written: 13 Oct 2016
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 5418
Mark Webber"s path to Formula One looks rather old-fashioned in retrospect. The much-loved, highly respected and straight-talking Australian certainly put in the hours: karts and Formula Ford in his home-land, winner of the Formula Ford festival in Europe in 1996, fourth in the British Formula 3 championship in 1997, a member of the Mercedes-Benz sportscar squad in 1998 and 1999 (Webber became memorably airborne at Le Mans in "99), through to Formula 3000 in 2000 and 2001. It"s an old-school CV.Webber, now 40, also arrived in motorsport"s premier division without having netted a major title en route. This never bothered him; instead there"s a consistency to the man and his performances (it"s a quality he greatly admires), matched with a rugged self-belief. He"s not a silver spoon racing driver he"s a grafter. Speaking to me back in 2004, he also plumped for Prost over Gilles Villeneuve ("fun to watch, yeah, but who had the bigger trophy cabinet?") That"s the man in a nutshell.He"s also highly persuasive. In 1997, Australian rugby legend David Campese helped fund his faltering F3 career, and in 2001 the not-easily-pleased Flavio Briatore saw enough potential during his Benetton test to not only sign him as official (Renault) test driver, but also to a personal management contract. And then there"s luck, which plays a bigger part in F1 than anyone ever seems prepared to admit. Webber got lucky at Melbourne in 2002, becoming one of a very select coterie of drivers to have scored points in his debut Grand Prix, racing for perennial back-marker Minardi (others to have managed it include Alain Prost, Jackie Stewart and, er, Eddie Irvine). Webber moved to Jaguar Racing in 2003, where the team"s struggle to move forward didn"t disguise his obvious ability and dogged approach."If the car is A1, then 70 per cent of the guys could drive it very quickly," Webber"s former Jaguar Racing chief mechanic Alan Maybin told me. "But having the ability to turn a less than perfect car into an A1 car is a different story. Mark definitely has that ability."Webber went on to drive for Williams, before joining Red Bull in 2007. It was there that his career finally delivered on all the promise he had shown, netting nine victories, and finishing third in the driver"s world championship on three separate occasions. In 2010, he really should have won the title, only to be outpointed by teammate and nemesis, Sebastian Vettel. It was a pattern he couldn"t break.He retired from F1 at the end of 2013, and landed the most coveted seat in the World Endurance Championship, driving for Porsche"s long-awaited new LMP1 programme. Together with Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley, he won seven WEC rounds, and lifted the drivers" title last year. Only the top step of the Le Mans podium eluded him, and we suspect that 2015"s second place finish will probably only bring him partial satisfaction.Of his decision to retire from motorsport, prematurely in TopGear.com"s opinion, he has this to say: "I will miss the sheer speed, downforce and competition, but I want to leave on a high and I"m very much looking forward to my new tasks."It was a big change from F1 to LMP1 and an entirely new experience. But it came at the right time for me. I found I liked sharing a car and the chemistry between Timo, Brendon and me is special and something I"ll always remember. It will be strange getting into the race car for the very last time in Bahrain, but for now I will thoroughly enjoy every moment of the remaining races."
Date written: 13 Oct 2016
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 5418
