Former Formula One driver and reigning WEC champion Mark Webber has announced that he will retire from racing at the end of 2016.
Porsche revealed that once the current WEC season is over, the Australian will hang up his racing boots for good and become a ‘special representative’ for the German manufacturer.
“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. I have arrived where I belong, Porsche is the brand I always loved most and the one that suits me the best.”
The 40-year-old raced in Formula One for 12 seasons for Minardi, Jaguar, Williams and finally Red Bull Racing. He picked up nine wins, 42 podiums and 13 pole positions over that time.
Although he helped Red Bull to four Constructors’ Championships, he failed to win the Drivers’ Championship despite been leading for most of the 2010 season.
He was the centre of the infamous ‘Multi-21’ incident at the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, witnessed first hand the demise of Jaguar Racing and performed one of the greatest ever overtakes on Fernando Alonso at the 2011 Belgium Grand Prix.
At the end of the 2013 season, he retired from Formula One and switched to the World Endurance Championship with Porsche. He had a difficult debut season with the team, scoring just three podiums and his #20 car suffered a broken anti-roll bar in Le Mans while leading the race.
“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.”
The following season witnessed Webber win the 2015 WEC championship along with his teammates Brendon Hartley and Timo Bernhard. After a nightmare start to his 2016 season, the #1 Porsche has gone onto to win the last three races and rise to fourth in the Drivers’ Championship.
They are currently just over 50 points behind the current championship leaders, the #2 Porsche with just three races remaining. With a maximum of 75 points available, a second world championship for Webber seems unlikely but in endurance racing, you can never be counted out.
“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.”
Porsche LMP1 vice-president Fritz Enzinger spoke of Webber’s time in the series:
“Behind the wheel, he is a fair fighter, never shy of even the toughest wheel-to-wheel battle. At the same time, he thinks strategically and is team orientated.
“This mixture makes him invaluable as an endurance racer. Winning the 2015 drivers’ world championship together with Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley almost seemed to be a logical consequence.”
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