Analysing Mark Webber's Impact on F1 as Australian Retires

The Brazilian Grand Prix marks the end of the road for one of Formula One’s true nice guys as Mark Webber hangs up his F1 helmet after a distinguished career.

Having gotten to know Webber closely during my time working with Jaguar Racing in 2003 and 2004, I, for one, will be sad to see him go.

Yet as a completely impartial observer, can Webber’s long 12-year stint in the sport really be classified as a success?

Webber came close to winning the world title in 2010, only to be pipped by teammate and long-term rival Sebastian Vettel in the final race. Since then, he has spent three seasons chasing the young German’s tale and has never been as close.

The Aussie’s CV on the face of it makes for pretty good reading, and if he had decided to stay in the sport beyond this season, there would be no shortage of takers for his talents. Two Monaco Grand Prix victories, two British, two Brazilians, a German, a Hungarian and a Spanish win in F1 is no mean feat, although all of these were delivered behind the wheel of a Red Bull.

So why did he decide to call it quits in order to pursue a career in sports cars with Porsche? In a frank interview with Peter Windsor in the October issue of F1 Racing magazine (subscription required), Webber admitted that his motivation was no longer there:

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I’ve been on the edge with Formula 1, I think, motivation-wise, for the past couple of years now. You have to be driven. You turn yourself around each winter and the fire in the belly is not quite what it was when you were 24. It’s inevitable. It happens, unfortunately. You never imagine it can happen, but it does. And I can tell you this: if I had won the championship in 2010 I would have retired there and then. Bang. Not even sportscars.

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It’s an extremely honest self-assessment from a driver I first met in 2003 after he switched from Minardi to a Jaguar team that promised much and delivered little. Webber burst onto the scene in his very first Grand Prix at his home race in Melbourne, somehow dragging his Minardi to a fifth-place finish and helping fellow Aussie Paul Stoddart’s team to finish ahead of the heavily-funded Toyota team in the constructors’ standings.

There were flashes of brilliance at Jaguar, too, despite the obvious shortcomings of the machinery at his disposal. In only his third race at Interlagos, he hauled the R4 to third on the grid and the following season even managed a front-row grid slot at Sepang, splitting the Ferraris of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello.

Following the collapse of Jaguar, Webber was offered a lifeline by Frank Williams and achieved his first podium in the sport at Monaco. But it would be another four years and in his third season at Red Bull that the elusive first victory finally came his way at the Nurburgring on a weekend that also saw him secure his first pole position. A further win in Brazil followed, but 2010 was the season for which Webber’s career will be defined.

Victories in Spain, Monaco, Britain and Hungary and a second-place finish in Belgium saw Webber take the lead of the championship standings. He went into the final race with a good shot at the title, only to be denied by a poor start and an outstanding teammate with whom Webber has had his well-documented clashes.

Webber has won only three times since and has yet to register a victory this season, although it’s not been for a lack of trying. Despite being one of F1’s elder statesmen at 37, Webber is renowned as being one of the fittest drivers on the grid, and it’s something he still prides himself on.

But even Webber admitted to F1 Racing that it’s getting increasingly difficult for him to maintain that level year in, year out. He is also one of the taller drivers on the grid, and with the 2014 regulations as strict as ever regarding weight-distribution regulations, keeping the weight off is more crucial than ever.

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The weight is something that gets a bit boring. I still enjoy my fitness but to hold 75kg for 11 months – that’s just something that has to happen but I have to work harder at it than most people do because of my height.

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Webber also revealed that he had the opportunity to drive for Ferrari in 2014 but in joining Porsche, Webber will have the luxury of maintaining his strict programme for fewer months of the year.

I digress somewhat from my original question of whether or not Webber’s career in F1 has been a success. The great drivers are generally classified as those who have a title or more to their name, and legendary status is reserved for those with three or more or whose spark was tragically extinguished before they had the chance to fulfill their potential.

Webber is a driver who certainly made the most of his talents and came within touching distance of achieving the Holy Grail that all drivers aspire to. I’ll always view Webber as an excellent driver, dedicated professional and, perhaps most importantly, one of the most honest, open and likable characters the sport has produced.

For those reasons alone, he can walk away from the sport with his head held high in the comfort that his time in F1 has been a successful one.

"To have had the results I've had, to have worked with the amazing people I've worked with, to race against amazing drivers on the best tracks in the world - I never thought I would do that when I left Queanbeyan in Australia [as a teenager to race in Europe]," Webber told BBC Sport on the eve of his final race weekend.

"I've learned a huge amount about myself, about everything. It's the next chapter when I step out of the car for the last time I will be fine with it."

Teams:	Minardi, Jaguar Racing, Williams, Red Bull
Debut:	2002
Wins:	9
Pole positions:	13
Podiums:	41
Fastest laps:	18
Championship points:	1029.5
Best championship result:	3rd in 2010 and 2011