A detailed look at the career of Australian driver Mark Webber in Formula 1
The 34-year-old Australian Formula 1 driver Mark Webber struggled early in his career to settle down for a team that was going to become the new world champions, Red Bull Racing.
Although they say that hard work pays off, it was not the case with Webber who struggled to make it into Red Bull Racing. Even in the ongoing 2011 season, he is struggling to keep his position in the team, or at least be treated equally alongside the German,
Sebastian Vettel.
Webber has shown in his career that he is capable of not only winning races but also to win championships, as he was about to do in the 2010 season.
Making his way in Formula 1 car as a proper driver at a relatively mature age, Webber only needed luck to win a title before his career ended. That luck was granted to him when, after struggling for five years in Minardi, Jaguar and Williams team, he got
a seat in the Red Bull Racing team which promised to show some progress in the Formula 1 arena.
But as the Aussie driver started to put his feet right on the track, Red Bull Racing started to treat him as a second driver and favoured Sebastian Vettel for race victories.
Webber got into a Formula 1 car for the Minardi team back in 2002. The Aussie jump started his career and came fifth in his very first race when an accident between Rubens Barrichello and Ralf Schumacher took out eight cars from the race.
He brought home points for the Minardi team after three years and also became the fourth Australian driver to score points in first race. The 2002 Hungarian Grand Prix was interesting for the fact that Webber lost two kilograms of weight during the race
when his water bottle broke during the race.
Webber ended the season in 16th place but earned some rookie awards of the year from different magazines and sports journals.
For the 2003 season, Webber joined the Jaguar team where in the very first race he retired after rear suspension problem in his car. The Aussie driver faced many retirements and accidents in the 2003 season and ended 10th on the table with 17
points in total. Webber pulled off five point scoring finishes in six races of the season.
He remained with Jaguar for the 2004 season and qualified sixth in his home race of Australia. However, he retired from the race due to a gearbox problem. His best qualifier performance came in Malaysian Grand Prix when he qualified second on the grid. He
finished the season in 13th place.
For the 2005 season, Webber drove for the Williams team alongside Nick Heidfeld. The season started on a high for Webber but he was unable to grab a podium which was there for the taking in the Australian Grand Prix. On a few more occasions, Webber drove
as high as third on the grid but was unable to maintain his position until the chequered flag.
Eventually in the Monaco Grand Prix Webber secured his first podium of his career behind his teammate Heidfeld.
Webber was involved in an interesting battle with his teammate Heidfeld in the 2005 season in which the Aussie prevailed in the end. For the 2006 season, Webber remained with Williams and ended the season in 14th place with just seven points.
Webber joined the Red Bull team in 2007 season and at that time, he was the young driver in the team alongside David Coulthard. He had an average first season with the Red Bull team as mostly he suffered from retirements and eventually finished 12th
on the table.
He remained with the Red Bull team for the 2008 season and was able to outperform his older teammate to end in 11th position in the final standings.
For 2009 season, Red Bull hired Vettel in the team as Webber’s teammate. Webber registered his first win of his career in the German Grand Prix and went on to finish fourth in the season whereas Vettel was second on the table.
2010 was the most controversial season of Webber’s career when, after leading the teammate for most part of the season, Webber was underestimated and Red Bull turned all their attention to Vettel who eventually won the championship in the very final race
of the season.
The 2011 Formula 1 season is underway and Webber is struggling to convince his team bosses about his potential. Apart from his performance, the Aussie is unsure of his seat in the Red Bull team for the 2012 season and beyond.
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