Formula One: Red Bull driver, Mark Webber may leave Formula One after 2011
The Red Bull driver, Mark Webber revealed he might not stay in the Formula One after 2011, if he wins the Formula One world championship this year or the next.
Mark started his racing career at a very young age, moved to his first four wheels vehicle at the age of 14, and began karting. His favourite driver was Alan Prost and the Australian won the New South Wales state Championship in 1993, before moving to Australian Formula Ford Championship.
After scoring some terrific results in the series, the 33 year old shifted to Europe in various forms of the sport. The Australian scored many wins including wins at Melbourne and Spa Francorchamps. He was voted as the “Young Achiever” by the Australian motorsports and “International Achiever” of 1996 by the Australian motorsports. Webber completed a successful test for Alan Docking Racing; he was signed by the team to graduate to Formula 3 in 1997, two days after his Festival victory. Mark went to Formula 3 and scored a victory in only his fourth race followed by four podium finishes. Webber signed with Mercedes AMG as their junior driver for the Formula GT Championship and the team came second in the overall standings after losing to teammates Klaus Ludwig and Ricardo Zonta in the last race.
The 33 year old stayed with the team until 1999 but was not able to finish in a good position after his accident on the Mulsanne straight during practice, 24 Hours of Le Mans race. Both drivers escaped uninjured and Webber had to reconsider his future in the open wheel racing.
Mark Webber started driving as a full-time driver in the Formula One after signing with team Minardi in 2002. The Australian made an impression after he scored an amazing 5th place in his very first season keeping in mind Minardi was not a very good car that season. This earned him a place in team Jaguar for the next year and Webber maintained his performance by scoring a total of 17 points in the drivers’ standings. The 33 year old stayed with the team for another year before joining Williams in 2004. The Australian scored his first podium in the Formula One this year and scored a total of 36 points securing the 10th place for him in the drivers’ standings. After 2006, Webber left Williams and joined Red Bull for the 2007 season. Mark struggled for 2 years but after that, he proved that he is better than that when he scored 2 wins, 8 podiums and 3 pole positions to score 69.5 points to secure the 4th position in the drivers’ standings.
Webber is currently leading the Championship and is in perfect shape to win the drivers’ championship. He has scored a total of 4 wins, 6 podiums and 4 poles to secure 161 points up until now. The Australian is only 4 points ahead of the British driver, Lewis Hamilton but believes that this will be his year.
Mark told Brazil’s weekly Esporte Espetacular programme that there is no guarantee whether the 33 year old will be on the Formula One grid after 2011, as his contract with Red Bull will expire in the end of 2011.
"I cannot guarantee that my head will be in the same place in 2012," said Webber. "For sure I want to go for the championship. I know that it changes people's lives, changes the person and I want to know how it feels."
Webber would like to be a mentor to the young people and he believes that there is a lot more in life than just Formula One. He wants the youngsters to realize that it is never too late to dream and every dream can be achieved so they should dream higher. The Australian would like to do some mountain climbing and some sporting challenges before he gets too old, so he has his options open for what he will do after his retirement from the Formula One.
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