Mark Webber information & statistics

Biography

Mark Webber Biography

Mark Webber finished 5th in his first F1 GP in Australia with the Minardi PS02

The term ‘grit and determination’ is a fine way of describing Red Bull’s Mark Webber. The Australian has battled hard  throughout his career to get to where he is today, in a race winning Red Bull car. He has driven for teams at the front, middle and back of the grid as he strives for world championship glory.

2013 is rumoured to be the 36 year-olds last season in the sport and if it is the grid will lose a fine driver and a well-respected man who is firmly among the crowd favourites.

Webber initially signed for minnows Minardi in 2002, the slowest car on the grid. Despite this he scored points in his very first race, his home grands prix in Australia. Webber benefited from other drivers problems and finished 5^th in a remarkable performance. The rest of his debut season was spent struggling towards the back, but Webber equipped himself well enough to earn a move to Jaguar in 2003.

Mark Webber racing at Monza with his Jaguar R4 (2003)

The Australian showed the world how good he was by qualifying third in the seasons third race in Brazil and went on to score points in five out of six races in the European season. The Australian went on to have an impressive year and won Autosport’s ‘Driver of the Year’ award, beating Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya. This award was justified by the remarkable statistic that showed that Webber has yet to be out qualified by his team mate at any grands prix in his two years.

Jaguar failed to progress in 2004 and reliability proved to be the Jaguar’s big problem as Webber retired eight times. A disappointing seven points arrived that season, but the Aussie thought it was time to progress his career further and subsequently joined Williams at the end of the season.  The faster car helped Webber score more consistent points, and his first podium materialised with a third placed finish in Monaco. Webber picked up his best haul of 36 points and finished tenth in the standings in 2005.

An unwelcomed familiar pattern was emerging for Webber as after every good season came a bad one. 2006 saw arguably the worst Williams car in a decade as Webber and rookie team mate Nico Rosberg scored just 11 points between them. Mid-way through the season a deal was struck for Webber to join Red Bull, a new team languishing in mid-table. The potential to work alongside Adrian Newey was the driving force behind Webber’s decision.

Initially it hadn’t looked like Webber had progressed much further up the grid as he had an up and down season.  A second career podium in the wet European Grands Prix at the Nurburgring was cancelled out by his crash in Japan that may have cost him a first career win. While running second in the torrential conditions behind Lewis Hamilton’s struggling McLaren the safety car came out, Hamilton braked severely while following the car and Sebastian Vettel, running third, didn’t anticipate the change of speed and collided with Webber’s rear taking them both out of the race.

2008 was another mediocre season with Webber finishing with 21 points, but with the dramatic rule changes arriving in 2009, Red Bull fancied their changes at producing a title winning car. Webber was joined by young German Sebastian Vettel, and immediately the car was a hit as Vettel won the Chinese Grands Prix in the season’s third race. Webber followed his team mate home in second securing his best ever finish in the sport.

Consistently Webber scored high points behind the dominant Jenson Button in the Brawn car. Red Bull improved their car as the season progressed and in Germany Webber set his first pole position. An eventful race, which saw Webber recover from a drive through penalty, saw the 32 year-old record his first Formula One win. A string on podiums saw him claim second in the championship for a while, but then a poor patch saw him eventually finish 4^th. A second race win in Brazil followed at the end of the season, finishing the best year of Webbers F1 career.

Red Bull entered 2010 as favourites for the title, however Sebastian Vettel was hotly tipped to lea their charge over Webber. The Aussie’s renowned grit and determination saw him out race Vettel for much of the season as he showed his true class. Five pole positions and four race wins in Spain, Monaco, Britain and Hungary, with the first two being a memorable back to back triumph, saw Webber lead the championship at the half way stage. However the wins dried up and he subsequently fell away to finish third, just 14 points behind champion Sebastian Vettel.

Critics believe this was his finest year as Vettel strolled to the championship in 2011 as Webber failed to get anywhere near him. Just one win, in Brazil, in comparison to Vettel’s 11 told the whole story. In 2012 again the Australian looked to be in with a shout after a positive first half of the season, which saw wins in Monaco and Britain. But a familiar story of poor form and bad luck saw any realistic challenge disappear.

Webber has the unenviable task of trying to stop Vettel in 2013, but no-one will be more determined then him.

Championship Results

Mark Webber F1 Championship Results

Year	Team	Engine	Races	1st	2nd	3rd	Podiums	Poles	Laps	Fastest	Avg Pts	Points
2013	Red Bull	Renault	5	0	1	0	1	0	252	0	8.40	42
2012	Red Bull	Renault	20	2	1	1	4	2	1080	1	8.95	179
2011	Red Bull	Renault	19	1	2	7	10	3	1084	7	13.58	258
2010	Red Bull	Renault	19	4	4	2	10	5	1043	3	12.74	242
2009	Red Bull	Renault	17	2	4	2	8	1	916	3	4.09	69.5
2008	Red Bull	Renault	18	0	0	0	0	0	998	0	1.17	21
2007	Red Bull	Renault	17	0	0	1	1	0	749	0	0.59	10
2006	Williams	Cosworth	18	0	0	0	0	0	671	0	0.39	7
2005	Williams	BMW	18	0	0	1	1	0	947	0	2.00	36
2004	Jaguar	Cosworth	18	0	0	0	0	0	787	0	0.39	7
2003	Jaguar	Cosworth	16	0	0	0	0	0	822	0	1.06	17
2002	Minardi	Asiatech	16	0	0	0	0	0	781	0	0.13	2

Race Results

Mark Webber F1 GP Race Results

Podium Finishes

Mark Webber F1 Podium Finishes

Pole Positions

Mark Webber F1 Pole Positions

Teammate Comparison

Mark Webber Teammate Comparison