Mark Webber

[Jack Jack 415]

### It's time for only 1 Car Teams, with more teams, & different sponsors.

I can't see them doing away with the constructors championship.

Briatore was right, if the team and bosses were so up in arms about it, why didn't they order Vettel to give back the lead?

It's a simple solution for Webber, he needs to change teams. Vettel and the team bosses have shown their hand. Red Bull have a driver preference, and have had for some time, and if Webber leaves I suspect they'll have trouble finding another driver of substance to take his place as second fiddle.

Webber needs to grow a pair and find another team at seasons end. It would take a miracle for him to get a drivers championship with Red Bull.

[dee-luded 2,958]

I can't see them doing away with the constructors championship.

Briatore was right, if the team and bosses were so up in arms about it, why didn't they order Vettel to give back the lead?

It's a simple solution for Webber, he needs to change teams. Vettel and the team bosses have shown their hand. Red Bull have a driver preference, and have had for some time, and if Webber leaves I suspect they'll have trouble finding another driver of substance to take his place as second fiddle.

Webber needs to grow a pair and find another team at seasons end. It would take a miracle for him to get a drivers championship with Red Bull.

Absolutely, crock-a-dial tears from the Pitwall...

they really don't care for the No 2 driver, other than being quick & reliable, & able to win races in the absence of their No 1.

Webber apparently had an in principle offer from Ferrari early last season to come over to them if he wanted. He got sucked in by promises from Red Bull to give him every support for the championship, IMO.

We now know what transpired after he re-signed with RB, & worse, Massa came good later in the year.

Webber may have missed the Ferrari opportunity.

Edited March 29, 2013 by dee-luded

[dee-luded 2,958]

Formula One: Lewis Hamilton on pole in Shanghai with Mark Webber to start from the back of the grid

AS BAD as things seemed for Mark Webber at the Malaysian Grand Prix, they took a sharp turn for the worse at the Chinese GP on Saturday.

The Red Bull driver was forced to start at the back of the grid in Sunday's race after running out of fuel in qualifying.

Red Bull blamed a "fuel bowser problem'' for failing to put enough in the tank for Webber to complete a timed lap in the second stage of qualifying and make it back to the pits, with the Australian marooned out on the track. ????????

-----------------------------------------------------------

... could this be payback by the powers behind the scenes to tell Webber to shut up.

Get out mark, but bugger that arrogant little tird first.

Edited October 6, 2014 by dee-luded

[Jack Jack 415]

Vettel not sorry

It doesn't state it in the article, but Vettel mentioned that he had never got any help from Webber. I hope he comes to regret these statements.

I don't see how Webber can stay in this hostile environment. His time is running out and he needs to change teams.

[low flying Robbo 979]

Maybe he should start from the pits more often. Doesn't have the chance to lose any positions off the start... He was making great progress until he had a bit of a collision, then the pit crew decided he didn't need all 4 of his wheels to stay on the car....

Bit dodgy when they can pull out a 2.5 second pit stop for Vettel under pressure, then they have 12 seconds to swap tyres while he gets a new nose-cone, and they manage to not tighten one of the wheels on....

[Jack Jack 415]

Oh well, from the reports he's found a new team. It's just a shame it's not in F1.

Do we have any Aussie drivers coming through the ranks or are we in for another long wait?

[low flying Robbo 979]

Oh well, from the reports he's found a new team. It's just a shame it's not in F1.

Do we have any Aussie drivers coming through the ranks or are we in for another long wait?

Ricciardo must be doing something right, as he managed to get into 7th on the grid and held onto 7th for the finish.

[Jack Jack 415]

Ricciardo must be doing something right, as he managed to get into 7th on the grid and held onto 7th for the finish.

Oh yeah, nice. I might enjoy the sport a bit more if I pay a bit more attention to Ricciardo rather than Webber and his team.

[dee-luded 2,958]

Vettel not sorry

It doesn't state it in the article, but Vettel mentioned that he had never got any help from Webber. I hope he comes to regret these statements.

I don't see how Webber can stay in this hostile environment. His time is running out and he needs to change teams.

I think Webber seems to be unfocused since the vettell incident. he has had 2 brushes with cars, from seemingly misjudgements.

I hope the Porsche rumour is a smoke screen, but some say it may have been started by Hmarko? who apparently has connections with the paper who broke the 'rumour'.

* I'd like to see Webber maybe replace Perez back @ McLaren, or if the door opens again @ ferrari with Alonso,,, Or @ Lotus-Renault.

Hope he stays in F1, & leaves the BullCrap behind...

He has good repore with both Renault & McLaren garages, & ferrari was 'said' to have had an agreement mid last year before he foolishly re-signed with this crap.

[flog 20]

I think Webber seems to be unfocused since the vettell incident. he has had 2 brushes with cars, from seemingly misjudgements.

I hope the Porsche rumour is a smoke screen, but some say it may have been started by Hmarko? who apparently has connections with the paper who broke the 'rumour'.

* I'd like to see Webber maybe replace Perez back @ McLaren, or if the door opens again @ ferrari with Alonso,,, Or @ Lotus-Renault.

Hope he stays in F1, & leaves the BullCrap behind...

He has good repore with both Renault & McLaren garages, & ferrari was 'said' to have had an agreement mid last year before he foolishly re-signed with this crap.

This crap has won the past three world championships so it would have been very hard for Webber to turn his back on Redbull. One of those championships should have been his but for a couple of mistakes that were entirely his fault. So he has had chances but the facts are Vettel is quicker, European and wins championships.

I love Mark but the time has come to move on I believe. What’s to say anything would be different at Ferrari behind Alonso other than the fact they are friends.

[dee-luded 2,958]

This crap has won the past three world championships so it would have been very hard for Webber to turn his back on Redbull. One of those championships should have been his but for a couple of mistakes that were entirely his fault. So he has had chances but the facts are Vettel is quicker, European and wins championships.

I love Mark but the time has come to move on I believe. What’s to say anything would be different at Ferrari behind Alonso other than the fact they are friends.

there is no doubting Vettel is quicker hes one of the quickest... & he has a great weight advantage & as you say, he's European & gets the best from his team.

Webber has had chances, but like all sportsman, confidence plays a part,,,, & when the bigger team takes Bits from your car, to put in the No 1 car, or when your used as the Guinea Pig for testing other bits, etc, midnight gearbox changes, that just don't happen on the No 1 car.

I find it astonishing that all the bad luck continually happens on the No 2 car. & usually when Mark's been ahead on the drivers champ points.

Mark had another chance, apparently, to join Ferrari with Alonso. (the best all round driver) And Mark, IMO chickened out & signed a new contract with Red Bullsh.

[dee-luded 2,958]

I can't see them doing away with the constructors championship.

Briatore was right, if the team and bosses were so up in arms about it, why didn't they order Vettel to give back the lead?

It's a simple solution for Webber, he needs to change teams. Vettel and the team bosses have shown their hand. Red Bull have a driver preference, and have had for some time, and if Webber leaves I suspect they'll have trouble finding another driver of substance to take his place as second fiddle.

Webber needs to grow a pair and find another team at seasons end. It would take a miracle for him to get a drivers championship with Red Bull.

you can still have a constructors championship, but maybe they have to stop putting Renault engines in a red bullsh or Ferrari engines in an indian car. it needs to change so the championship can get some integrity back.

[dee-luded 2,958]

Mark Webber slams 'stupid, embarrassing' electronic problems

Mark Webber launched an attack on his Red Bull team after suffering what he called ''stupid and embarrassing'' problems with his car in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Electronic problems once again played havoc with the Australian driver's efforts: they stopped KERS from working and upset the gearshift system.

Mechanics push the car of Red Bull Racing's Australian driver Mark Webber into the pits during the third practice session at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Photo: AFP

Webber, who is retiring from Formula One at the end of the season battled his way through the first two parts of qualifying but could only manage 10th when he was unable to bring his car onto the track for the top 10 shoot-out.

''KERS, gearbox, you name it ... driving the car so far off the potential is unbelievable and so massively frustrating. It's stupid, it's embarrassing and it's a brutal circuit to be out of position," he said.

''We should be challenging for the front row and we're bloody 10th. So, a pain in the arse. It's amazing. All the effort you go to — and it's two weekends on the bounce where you get that.''

Red Bull Racing's Australian driver Mark Webber stands in the pits during the third practice session at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Photo: AFP

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/sport/motorsport/mark-webber-slams-stupid-embarrassing-electronic-problems-20130728-2qs7w.html#ixzz2aIelcGSK

# how the hell does all the shyte happen to Marks car all the time & not vettells????

he gets all the seconds & imo does all the experimenting, & they salvage parts from his car @ midnight, thats projected as a need for vetell, if his parts are getting tired.

they've effectively retired Mark, since he stood vettell face to face, over that pass vettell made on Mark, after Mark 'turned off his power' many races back...

# the constructors is an absolute Joke at the moment & they use the second car to try to FIX results in their favour... its less about the drivers today & more about the engineers strategies on the pit wall....

* a bit like footy, its heading that way... let the players play.

Edited July 28, 2013 by dee-luded

[dee-luded 2,958]

But you put Webber and Hamilton next to each other on the track and Hamilton will always be able to overtake or pull away with the faster car... It's frustrating to watch

Webber has grown to be a fantastic driver, but without the charisma of Alonso.

Webber is one level below Alonso, alongside drivers like Button, Hamilton, etc.

He needs a team who'll look after his needs as a driver instead of keeping him as the constructors points driver.

Every time Webber looks like overtaking Vettel, the boss pulls Webbers reigns back on him. Thru mapping, or stupid midnight gearbox changes.

Webber no longer has to deal with weighty issue of height

Read more: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/sport/motorsport/webber-no-longer-has-to-deal-with-weighty-issue-of-height-20130914-2trcn.html#ixzz2esBOe0Ki

For all his formula one career, and before that in lesser open-wheel categories, Mark Webber has silently battled a serious handicap. His size.

...... Had he won the world drivers' championship in 2010 he would have been the tallest F1 world champion in the history of the sport.

Since he began racing as a teenager, the tall and lean Webber has exercised madly and watched his diet carefully to satisfy the whims of race car designers who create their machines around optimum-sized, vertically challenged drivers weighing between 60 and 70 kilos. During his 12-season F1 career, Webber has always done what was expected of him as a well-paid, professional sportsman - he met his team's weight targets.

...... Webber squeezed his 185-centimetre, 75kg body into claustrophobic cockpits in the name of his craft.

At 37, and after half a lifetime eating lettuce leaves, staying on weight is not something he wishes to do any more, or at least to the extent he does now. A comfortable weight for someone of his frame would actually be 82kg. Back when he was a talented teenager with the dreams of making it to the top in motor sport in Europe, I asked him his height. His response: ''I'm not telling you because I don't want it to be an issue when I get to F1.''

Earlier this year he realised that he just didn't want to keep punishing his body to the same extent any longer.... And this, folks, is one of the prime reasons he decided to walk away from F1 and go back to sports car racing, where he'll find the cockpit of a Porsche Le Mans car a little more commodious.

Edited September 14, 2013 by dee-luded

[dee-luded 2,958]

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/motorsport/mark-webber-says-he-has-starved-for-years-as-formula-one-struggles-with-heavy-drivers-20131004-2uyfu.html#ixzz2gncEX6A3

October 4, 2013 - 10:41AM - Tom Cary

Mark Webber says he has starved for years as formula one struggles with 'heavy' drivers

Mark Webber is more than 10kg heavier than his teammate Sebastian Vettel. Photo: Getty Images

MOKPO: Jenson Button has called on the FIA to increase the minimum weight limit for next year's cars after claiming that taller, heavier drivers are being unfairly discriminated against.

With heavy showers expected on Sunday - the latest forecasts still have Typhoon Fitow just missing the Korean Peninsula and heading west towards China instead - a storm of a different kind was brewing in Korea on Thursday as the notoriously thorny issue of driver weight reared its head.

The Grand Prix Drivers Association is expected to discuss the issue on Friday night.

Edited October 4, 2013 by dee-luded

[dee-luded 2,958]

http://www.smh.com.a...l#ixzz2gncEX6A3

October 4, 2013 - 10:41AM - Tom Cary

Mark Webber says he has starved for years as formula one struggles with 'heavy' drivers

Mark Webber is more than 10kg heavier than his teammate Sebastian Vettel. Photo: Getty Images

Jenson Button has called on the FIA to increase the minimum weight limit for next year's cars after claiming that taller, heavier drivers are being unfairly discriminated against.

The Grand Prix Drivers Association is expected to discuss the issue on Friday night.

The issue has been put firmly back on the agenda in recent weeks with speculation that Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg, widely regarded as one of the sport's most promising talents, may miss out on a drive next year because he weighs 74 kilograms.

It was rumoured in Germany this week that Hulkenberg may have missed out on a race seat at McLaren due to his weight. He has also been overlooked by Ferrari and is vying with the much lighter Felipe Massa for a race seat at Lotus. Force India's Paul di Resta, who weighs in at 74kg, is another driver sweating on his future.

Red Bull's Mark Webber responded to the speculation by tweeting his sympathy for heavier drivers, claiming that he has been starving himself for years and adding that the perfect driver weight was now between 60 to 65kg.

..... The Australian, 182cm tall, weighs around 75kg compared with his teammate Sebastian Vettel who is 175cm and weighs 64kg. "Haven't eaten for last 5 years!" Webber wrote. "Min weight been to [sic] low since for ages. Perfect driver now weight 60/65kg."

The issue of driver weight is a long-standing one in formula one. David Coulthard admitted to suffering from bulimia as a teenager as he struggled to make his way in the sport. While Button said he was in no danger of developing an eating disorder, he admitted that he fasts before each race and "never" eats carbohydrates.

The 2009 world champion said that it was high time drivers put self-interest aside to create "a level playing field" ahead of next year's step-change in the regulations.

The introduction in 2014 of new turbocharged engines allied to heavier, more powerful energy recovery systems has already seen the governing body increase the minimum weight limit of the cars plus drivers to 690kg from 642kg. However, the extra 48kg will almost certainly be taken up by the new power units, meaning even less leeway for drivers than there is at present. Lighter drivers currently have the luxury of being able to move ballast around the car in order to bring it up to the minimum weight.

Button claimed that he was already "on the limit" in his McLaren at just 70kg and had sometimes stepped over it. "I have about six per cent body fat and I am on the limit in our car," he said. "I couldn't be heavier than I am so I fast before the race.

"The problem is that it will stop people looking at taller drivers in the future. You could have a very talented driver who could be missed for his height and weight even if he is the fittest and skinniest driver ever to be in a racing car. If he is over the weight by five kilos that is 0.2 secs-a-lap and it is the end of your career basically.

"It needs to change now. To be fair, we [the drivers] should have pushed harder on that. I think the drivers would rather have a level playing field. It is not a safety issue and it should be an easy thing to change: just put [the minimum weight] up five or 10kg."

Button conceded that some drivers and teams would not be as keen as others. "Some teams might not want to change the weight because they have light drivers and know they can make a light car and engine package," he said. "That might be us [McLaren] but we should all agree to be fair and raise the weights.

I would love to be able to eat again.

"In the past three years, I have probably had four races where I have lost half-a-tenth or a tenth of a second because I have been overweight. It sounds small but in qualifying that could be a position or two and in the race it could be five or six seconds.

"It is a big deal and something that goes unnoticed."

Lewis Hamilton produced an amusing aside to the issue by suggesting only drastic action could enable him to reach Webber's ideal driver weight. He said: "I weigh about 71kg. I was never 65kg. I was 68kg last year but I have put on three kilos since then.

The guys have not told me to do that [lose weight].

I actually want to put on another kilo of muscle! I think Michael [schumacher] was 78kg with all his kit and Adrian Sutil was 82kg.

I am not going to be 65kg unless I cut my nuts off."

Edited October 5, 2013 by dee-luded

[dee-luded 2,958]

I can't see them doing away with the constructors championship.

Briatore was right, if the team and bosses were so up in arms about it, why didn't they order Vettel to give back the lead?

It's a simple solution for Webber, he needs to change teams. Vettel and the team bosses have shown their hand. Red Bull have a driver preference, and have had for some time, and if Webber leaves I suspect they'll have trouble finding another driver of substance to take his place as second fiddle.

Webber needs to grow a pair and find another team at seasons end. It would take a miracle for him to get a drivers championship with Red Bull.

thats right.

& the podium honesty has caused his end in GPrix F1

if you have a constructor building & supplying bodies/cars, you have a constuctors title.

others just make engines - renault

others are manufacturers - ferrari

I don't see the problem with one driver - one sponsor teams.

Having sponsors overseeing many teams has potential for corruption & interference in the integrity of the competition.

Edited October 7, 2013 by dee-luded

[dee-luded 2,958]

As his teammate Sebastian Vettel was drenched in champagne, Red Bull’s Mark Webber sat disconsolately in the garage and reflected upon yet another chapter in his story of extraordinary bad luck.

The Australian has shown a repeated knack throughout his career for being in the wrong place at the wrong time and Sunday’s Korean Grand Prix may well have been the most remarkable example yet.

Having started the race with a harsh ten-place grid penalty for merely hitching a ride back to the pits after the Singapore Grand Prix, Webber had worked his way up from 13th to a creditable third place when he made his second pit stop after lap 29 of 55 at the Yeongam circuit.

Emerging back onto the track, Webber was trailing Sergio Perez when the McLaren’s right-front tyre blew and Webber had no way to avoid the debris, immediately picking up a puncture that sent him back to the pits again.

‘‘The tyres are wearing a lot and they also explode a bit, but that is for Pirelli to sort out,’’ a philosophical Webber said after the race. ‘‘Pirelli will put the puncture of Perez down to a lock-up but the reason the drivers are locking up is because there’s no tread left.’’

It was a blow, but fitting a new set of medium-compound tyres would have given Webber a fighting chance of a decent points finish. However he was bemused to see the team had fitted a set of the short-life super-softs rather than mediums.

........ The radio message from his engineer said: ‘‘We are in a tricky position, the plan is to try to go to the end’’ to which Webber radioed back ‘‘Why did we choose the options?’’ The sheepish answer was: ‘‘We had nothing else left mate.’’

Upon resumption after a safety car period, Webber was charging into the turn out of the main straight when he was hit from behind by the spinning Force India of Adrian Sutil, impacting the KERS system on the Red Bull and immediately starting a fire.

Webber sat in the car for a few worrying seconds as the flames engulfed the car before stepping out and watching the fire from close distance, like a barbecue in his homeland.

Asked why he took so long to get out of the car, he laconically replied: ‘‘I was trying to get the fire extinguisher out but I couldn’t. I had my overalls on.’’

The ill-luck occurred on the same track where three years previously he went into the race with a 14-point lead in the championship, only to see his only chance of a title end in a couple of seconds, when he spun in wet conditions, drifted across the track and was collected by the onrushing Mercedes of Nico Rosberg.

Webber departs F1 at the end of the season to go back to sports-car racing, where he can only hope for improved fortunes. AP

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/sport/motorsport/webbers-curse-reaches-new-lows-in-korea-20131006-2v2lc.html

Edited October 7, 2013 by dee-luded

[dee-luded 2,958]

How should Formula 1 remember Mark Webber, the driver?

MARK Webber the man is easy: straightforward, honest, deeply competitive, humble, human, sincere. No airs, no graces. Will always tell it like it is.

But how should we recall Mark Webber, the driver?

His career will forever be defined by that agonising moment at Korea 2010 when he essentially blew the World Championship. He crashed out trying to keep up with a teammate in tricky wet conditions when he had no need to be doing so.

Yet back in 2007 Fernando Alonso blew the World Championship by crashing out at Fuji - trying in tricky wet conditions to keep up with a teammate he had no need to be racing. But because Alonso had already won titles, the 2007 incident does not define him.

Although his F1 career lasted 12 seasons, Webber's window of opportunity for demonstrating his full potential was actually very limited. Only in 2010 did he have both a fast car and tyres that did not unduly punish his driving style - and he duly went head-to-head with the great Sebastian Vettel for a world title. In a team that had, not unnaturally, come to be based around Vettel, a man 11 years younger. What might have been Webber's peak years, as a guy in his mid-20s in a tyre-war era with rubber that perfectly matched his strongest asset, was wasted in second-rate machinery.

INTERACTIVE CAREER TIMELINE
POLL: WEBBER'S GREATEST RACE
WEBBER'S BEST QUIPS AND QUOTES

The core skill of Webber, the thing he does arguably better than anyone else, is extract every ounce of potential from the car through fast, aerodynamically-loaded corners. Right to the end, as a 37-year-old about to retire, he still held a small edge over Vettel in any fast sections.

Webber's problem was that Vettel held a bigger advantage through the slow sections - which have for the last few seasons been all about adapting driving technique to the effect exhaust-blowing has on the balance of the car - than Webber held over him in the fast sections. Furthermore, there is always more lap time to be found in slow corners than fast ones, simply because the car is in them for longer.

Back in his Jaguar days (2003-04) Webber consistently transcended the level of his car in qualifying. It was a mediocre, midfield machine at best yet he invariably put it in places on the grid it had no right being. It had Michelin tyre war tyres that had huge grip over a single lap, even on a car, like the Jaguar, that was abusing them.

Webber made the Jaguar shine in qualifying sessions. Source: AFP

Webber had a very special feel for the braking grip of them and how quickly that grip came off as the speed came down in the braking zone, so he could modulate the pedal supremely well. At the beginning of a braking zone from high speed, with lots of downforce on the car, your retardation rate was initially determined simply by how hard you could press the pedal. Webber could always achieve more than anyone else.

But as the downforce bled off the car as the speed came down, then you'd need to modulate the pressure and the more sensitively you could do this, the longer you would stay at the tyre's grip limit. He was fantastic at it, as any number of race engineers attested.

The move to a control tyres (from Bridgestone) in 2007 took away some of that advantage as the rubber was not as high performance as that of the tyre war. The move to Pirellis (in 2011) that were much less durable than the Bridgestones hurt him further in that fast high-downforce corners ripped them to shreds - so he could no longer use his advantage over Vettel in the races.

At much the same time came the arrival of exhaust-blowing technology - the intricate, mental dexterity required to get the best from this in terms of using the throttle was perfect territory for Vettel and worth a lot of lap time. This came along towards the end of 2010 and took off in a big way in 2011. The brief neutralising of the feature at the beginning of 2012 as Red Bull initially struggled to adapt to new restrictions on the technology restored Webber to level-pegging for speed with Vettel. But as soon as the feature was restored to full power, Vettel was back in the ascendant.

Webber was born too late. Had he been a 25-year-old in an active ride Williams in the 1990s - where being committed through the fast corners was an absolute key to maximising the technology - his talents would have melded with the demands as perfectly as Nigel Mansell's.

Read more here: http://www1.skysports.com/f1/news/22058/9041937/how-should-formula-1-remember-the-retiring-mark-webber

Edited November 25, 2013 by dee-luded

[dee-luded 2,958]

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/sport/motorsport/mooted-weight-limit-increase-too-late-for-webber-20131208-2yyy8.html

Mooted weight limit increase too late for Webber

Mark Webber is given a lift back to the pits by Fernando Alonso during the Singapore Grand Prix in September. Throughout his F1 career, the tall Webber struggled to shed weight to compete in cars designed for lighter drivers. Photo: Getty Images

Mark Webber might well be musing “a little too late” as he learns that his Red Bull technical genius Adrian Newey is supporting a renewed push to increase the weight limit of next year's formula one cars so that heavier drivers are not penalised.

The matter is up for discussion at next week's F1 Strategy Group meeting when the debate will be about bringing forward a 10 kilogram rise in the weight limit to 700kg, which has been agreed for 2015. Unanimous support is required from all teams. But one – Mercedes – is against the move.

Throughout his just-ended F1 career, the tall Webber battled to sweat away the grams in order to only partly satisfy designers and engineers, who demanded that their featherweight drivers be located low in the car.

Other tall timbers in F1 including Nico Hulkenberg and Jenson Button favour a hike in a race car's minimum weight while Webber's replacement at Red Bull, Perth's already trim Daniel Ricciardo, has been told by the team to lose at least two kilos before the new season.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/sport/motorsport/mooted-weight-limit-increase-too-late-for-webber-20131208-2yyy8.html#ixzz2n1hiKHbi

Why Now? Why not last year? or the year before, Red Bull !!!

Edited December 10, 2013 by dee-luded

[dee-luded 2,958]

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/24798535

F1: Why did Red Bull's Mark Webber never win the world title?

Few drivers leave Formula 1 with so many admirers, having earned so few accolades.

Mark Webber had a decorated career which warranted a mighty trophy cabinet. He was a proven race winner - one of only 103 drivers to climb aboard the top step - claiming nine victories and an impressive 42 podiums.

But the Australian missed out on the ultimate prize: the World Championship, most agonisingly in 2010. Getting your hands on that shiny trophy, at a glittering FIA prize-giving gala in Paris in front of all of your rivals, is what every driver lucky enough to make it into F1 aspires to. If they say otherwise, they're lying.

Mark Webber scored points on home soil in his Formula 1 debut with backmarkers Minardi in 2002

Win it just once and you'll cement your name in the sport's annals alongside a select few - just 32 have managed it in the sport's 63-year history.

Win it more than three times and you'll be placed among the greats such as Michael Schumacher, Juan Manuel Fangio, Alain Prost and, after this season, Sebastian Vettel.

But fail to win it at all and you'll forever just be a number, one of more than 800 drivers who tried and failed.

Webber falls into the latter category. He says he achieved his childhood dream by making it into the sport but looking back admits that, while he knew he was never going to be an all-time great, he believes he had what it takes to join that exclusive 32-man club.

"My dream as a kid growing up in Australia was to make it to F1," said the 37-year-old, who will race in sportscars next season.

"I think I did my absolute best at the time. I never would have thought I would have had a grand prix career of 215 races and banging out 42 podiums and some very special victories.

"You're measured on championships, so do I see myself in the same calibre as some of the single world champions in the sport? I do see that.

I don't have it but I'm still very proud of what I achieved. Am I as good as multiple world champions? Probably not."

Mark Webber facts and stats

• Races: 215
• Championships: 0
• Wins: 9
• Win percentage: 4
• Podiums: 42
• Podium percentage: 20
• Pole positions: 13
• Fastest laps: 18
• Career points: 1047.5
• Best championship position: 3rd (2010, 2011, 2013)
• Races before his first victory: 132
• First race: 2002 Australian Grand Prix
• Last race: 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix
• First race win: 2009 German Grand Prix
• Last race win: 2012 British Grand Prix
• Teams: Minardi, Jaguar, Williams, Red Bull

To be fair to Webber, just getting to F1 was a brilliant achievement. While four-time world champion Vettel had the luxury of being part of the Red Bull driver programme from his teens, Webber was scratching around for sponsorship to secure drives in various categories in Europe, having moved over from Australia.

In 1997, he was almost forced to quit halfway through his British Formula Three campaign before Australian rugby union legend David Campese stepped in and loaned him £40,000 so he could continue racing.

Webber later spoke to Eddie Jordan, who was running his own F1 team, and the Irishman put him in touch with Australian Paul Stoddart, who gave him a drive in Formula 3000 and his first taste of F1 as an Arrows test driver, in 1999.

Three years later, he was a fully fledged F1 driver for Stoddart's backmarker Minardi team.

...Having qualified 18th out of 22 cars in the opening race of the season in Australia, Webber finished a remarkable fifth, scoring two points on his debut.

From there, he drove for Jaguar and Williams before ending his career with seven seasons at Red Bull. Three third-place finishes in the drivers' standings - in 2010, 2011 and this season - were as good as it got.

So why did he never win the World Championship? Well firstly, he came up against one of the greats of the sport - Vettel.

Webber was team leader at Red Bull before the young German joined in 2009. But almost instantly, Vettel seized control.

The duo clashed several times during their partnership, most notably in the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix, when they collided while battling for the lead.

Vettel also disobeyed the now infamous "Multi 21" team orders to pass Webber in this year's Malaysian Grand Prix.

sebastian vettel

But despite Vettel's aggressive approach to competing with his team-mate, Webber cannot ignore the German's talents.

"I accepted that [Vettel is talented] many times," he said.

"Seb is very, very good, no question about it. I'm completely comfortable with that."

But the Australian is less comfortable with the fact he was not always given a fair crack.

At Silverstone in 2010, for example, Red Bull brought two new spec front wings to the track. Vettel's was damaged in an incident, but rather than replacing it with the old spec, Red Bull took the other new one from Webber's car for his team-mate.

Calls that didn't go his way, along with the lion's share of bad luck in terms of reliability, severely hampered his ability to sustain a title challenge.

"You want the same, and the best opportunities to do the best that you can do," he said. "That's all you can ask. Obviously this year has been quite challenging in that respect."

And then there's the timing. Webber doesn't use the word regret, but he hints at it when he mulls over the fact he got hold of front-running machinery when he was perhaps past his peak.

"David Coulthard was in the prime of his career at McLaren, whereas I was probably not in the super prime," said Webber.

"I was in a good situation, but it would have been nice to be in my prime. If you want to be super fussy, you would have liked that. But you do the best with what you have.

"I think you can always find the perfect window that suits you. Any driver, whether it's Jenson [button] or Fernando [Alonso] or Lewis [Hamilton] or whoever, will have their unique style - but we're not in a position where we can be fussy with that.

"We're not tennis players that play on four different surfaces each year. We're in that fine envelope of always having to perform at the optimum and you have to have an inherent bit of flexibility within your skill-set. That's what sets the absolute greats apart."

BBC F1 co-commentator Coulthard knows all about just missing out, having finished second once and third four times in the drivers' standings while his McLaren team-mate Mika Hakkinen collected two titles.

"I came up short in my career in terms of not winning the championship," said Coulthard.

"I was consistently struggling, relative to my team-mates to deliver that single-lap speed... {comment - IMO its time to make all the drivers weights the same, Via added weight bags, to even out the driving competition.}

"What separates the good drivers from the great drivers, is that outright ability to deliver a timed lap, a single flying lap, consistently across a year."

Had Schumacher not been around, Coulthard would probably have won the title. Equally, if Vettel hadn't, Webber could have - and Alonso and Hamilton could have added to their tallies.

Coulthard added: "I think Mark has had a successful career, absolutely. I don't think there's any shame for him because he is still a very good racing driver in that there are a lot of very good musicians or very good footballers.

"I do know that Mark is fit, works hard and leaves no stone unturned but in any given period, there are one or two exceptional people".

......................

Webber came closest to a title in 2010. Leading by 16 points with three races to go, he somehow left the season finale in Abu Dhabi 14 behind Vettel.

"That was a special year, but it just wasn't meant to be," he said.

"We know we didn't pick the easiest year to try and win a title either - it was a good battle. I had two non-finishes that year and had a lot of races where I put myself in contention because I drove very well. That was that."

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/25082614

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/23073995

Edited January 16, 2014 by dee-luded

[dee-luded 2,958]

now the aerodynamics rules have changed, & the Turbo's are back, with less traction control & rears breaking loose from less traction, we'll see many surprises Re driver talent !

I suspect already we've seen some struggling with less computer technical engineering help.

I wish Webber was still driving with the cars losing traction more easily. I suspect he would be more adaptable than many others.

Next to have the Drivers seats Inner's plus the Drivers weights, to be made a regulated uniform weight ! to even the playing field, & take the advantage from the mini me's & allow all with talent to be able to drive competitively in F1, & in all forms of major motor racing.

Edited March 27, 2014 by dee-luded

[low flying Robbo 979]

I loved hearing Mark with his special comments on the weekend. He seemed so much more relaxed in front of the camera and seemed to be free from the Red Bull Media Muzzle...

[Alcho Dee 269]

I reckon Mark would of enjoyed Vettel being instructed to let Ricciardo past him in China.

[dee-luded 2,958]

I reckon Mark would of enjoyed Vettel being instructed to let Ricciardo past him in China.

I reckon Mark Webber would have enjoyed driving these cars with less downforce, more sliding, & harder to get traction. natural bum in the seat driving.

Vettel is back in the pack,,, with less traction in braking & also in feeding power on because of the turbo power. = less speed into/thru corners for Vettell due to less downforce/traction & worn tyres.

Vettel's toys coming out of the cot.

Edited April 29, 2014 by dee-luded