MOTORSPORT: End of the F1 road for Webber

End of an era as its last hurrah for V8s too
By the time the sun comes up over eastern Australia on Monday, the curtain will have come down on Mark Webber’s Formula One career. At 37, he’s the first to admit it’s time for him to depart the biggest stage in motorsport racing.

“I’ve had my time. I’ve enjoyed it and achieved a few things,” Webber has said.

The Brazilian Grand Prix early Monday morning, Australian time, will be his 215th and final F1 race.

He’s had nine wins after having gone 130 races – longer than any other driver – until that unforgettable maiden victory in Germany 2009. His stat sheet also contains 41 podiums, 13 pole positions and 18 fastest laps. Webber’s had some special T-shirts made for his finale, saying “Made My Mark” on the front and “215 declared” on the back.

Other than that, he doesn’t want to be a performing seal this weekend and is looking forward to getting home to his Buckinghamshire base to walk to his two dogs.

He said his goodbyes to the workers at Red Bull Racing’s factory a few weeks ago. In Sao Paulo on Wednesday night there was a dinner with all the RBR crew who attend races, including four-time world champion teammate Sebastian Vettel with whom he has had an infamously strained relationship.

Webber is looking forward to his last GP, vowing to put in “a very good performance” at the Interlagos circuit where he has won twice before and finished second another time, hoping to bow out with a 10th victory.

But Vettel won’t be doing him any favours as he’ll be trying to become the first driver to win nine GPs straight in one season. And he has said that Webber “doesn’t want a win handed over to him”, as Ayrton Senna did to Gerhard Berger years ago as a “thank-you” for being a great teammate.

Webber’s exit from F1 coincides with the end of the era of 2.4-litre V8 engines. The introduction of turbocharged 1.6-litre V6s will begin with another Aussie, Daniel Riccardo, 13 years younger than Webber, as Vettel’s teammate. For the record, Vettel has clarified this week that, as this author has felt, his relationship with Webber has not been as bad as often portrayed.

“Generally people have a worse impression than the relationship that we have,” Vettel said.

“People tend to forget how successful we have been - we’ve been one of the strongest pairings in F1.

“Obviously we didn’t have the best relationship on a personal level, but in terms of working professionally together for the team we have been very strong.

“Both of us have tried very hard to improve the car. The fact that he will not be around next year will surely be a loss for the team and a loss for myself.

“I’ve learned a lot from him. I can stand up straight and say that there were many times and places where I benefitted from him.

“You could obviously say the same thing the other way around”.

Webber could not hide that, long ago, being relegated to RBR’s No. 2 driver, his relationship with Vettel and the team has been “strained”, but this year’s Malaysian GP was the straw that broke the camel’s back for him. That was the day Vettel overtook him for the lead, in defiance of instructions from team chiefs on the pit wall – and it was clear that they were powerless to persuade the German to retreat.

While much was made of Vettel’s action then, and since, what is overlooked is surely the higher annual edict from Red Bull energy drink company owner Dietrich Mateschitz that the team’s drivers are free to race each other provided they don’t collide.

After Monday morning none of that will matter to Webber as he will be free of Vettel and RBR, even taking a Red Bull sponsorship with him to his “retirement” gig with Porsche in its new sports car campaign, focused on adding to its 16 Le Mans 24-Hour wins.

Webber reckons he’s “still driving pretty well”.

Twice in the past four races he has out-qualified Vettel for pole position and he’s had seven podiums for the year – three of them in the past four races. But Vettel has had 12 wins – a phenomenal strike rate of 66 per cent this season.

Webber leaves the big stage content “to have had the results I’ve had, to have worked with the amazing people I’ve worked with, to race against amazing drivers on the best tracks in the world.”

“I never thought I would do that when I left Queanbeyan [as a teenager],” he says.

He goes without a world title, other than for his record 1.923-second pitstop in Texas last weekend. Although he could yet wind up third in this year’s championship – equaling his 2010 standing, albeit nowhere near as close in points.

That was the year he might have been champion if not for a crash early in the Korean GP, a race in which Vettel also was a non-finisher. However, that year also saw Vettel go on to win his first title.

Webber has said that he sees himself “in the same calibre as some of the single world champions.”

Unfortunately for him the history books won’t reflect that.

“I don’t have it [a world title], but I will leave the paddock very satisfied,” he says.

“OK, I’ve had a bit of a rough time of late, but overall I was dealt a good hand.

“I’m still very proud of what I’ve achieved. I wouldn't be leaving if there weren’t things I was happy to leave behind. If there were more positives than negatives then I would stay.

“I still think there are certain situations in F1 that are super-rewarding.

“Obviously driving the car on the limit at certain venues is still very satisfying - Suzuka, Spa, Monte Carlo.

“Come qualifying and even racing at some circuits it's very challenging and rewarding, so I'll miss some of that.

“It’s inevitable that you’re going to miss certain parts - the adrenaline and working with people like Adrian Newey [RBR’s technical director, creator of 10 world championship-winning cars], you don’t get to do that very often.

“But there comes a time when you’ve got to let go.

“I’ll still have good adrenaline next year with Porsche and that’ll be a good balance. Le Mans is not an old people’s home, you know.”