Mark Webber’s future with Red Bull depends on his performance
Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner has said that Mark Webber will be a part of his team in the future as well if the veteran driver keeps on performing the way he did in the 2010 season.
Webber’s contract with Red Bull will end after the conclusion of the 2011 Formula 1 season. However, his contract may be renewed considering his form, fitness and motivation.
Horner stated that there was no reason that Webber will not have a good season in 2011. He said that the driver has the experience and form with him which will allow him to have a better season compared to the last one. Horner further said that the team
will be in talks with Webber for a new contract during the season.
The veteran Australian driver was leading the drivers’ championship for most part of the 2010 season. However, his teammate Sebastian Vettel won three out of the last four races to snatch the title from him.
A dip in form towards the end of the season saw Webber finish third overall in the championship behind Vettel and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.
Fierce competition amongst both the Red Bull drivers led to a lot of problems for the team. The infighting amongst Webber and Vettel almost cost both the drivers an opportunity to win the title as Alonso benefited from the rift.
At the end of the 2010 season, Webber claimed that his team treated him as a second driver whereas there was a lot of support for Vettel, which led to his failure and the title for the young German.
Horner said that Vettel’s victory was hard to digest for Webber. He said, “But Mark's mentally a tough competitor and I think he will use that inwardly as motivation to come back even more determined, more focused and I think he's come back leaner, lighter
and extremely motivated.”
Many experts claim that former Ferrari and McLaren driver Kimi Raikkonen may be a part of Red Bull in the future when Webber’s contract ends. Raikkonen has a good relationship with the Red Bull team and he started rallying in a Red Bull sponsored team, Citroen.
The Finn driver last raced in the 2009 season for Ferrari. He had a contract until 2010 with the scarlet car, but his contract was ended with mutual consent at the end of the 2009 season and Alonso came as his replacement.
Raikkonen had ruled out his chances of racing for any Formula 1 team which does not have the potential to win races. However, the Finn will definitely not hesitate to get behind the wheels of the Red Bull car once he gets an opportunity.
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