Does Mark Webber have anywhere to go?

Earlier this week, seventh year Formula One veteran. Mark Webber, stated that he's eagerly seeking a new contract with Red Bull Racing. This leads me to think... where else does he possibly have to go?

Please think back to the end of the 2006 season. Mark Webber had raced that season with the famed Williams F1 team, his second year with the team. Toward the end of the year Webber was still without a contract for the 2007 season and had asked Williams for an extension.

The Williams team did offer a new contract, but it was a contract they knew was too low to be accepted from a driver as experienced as Webber, and so he had to look elsewhere... but where?

A man named Juan Pablo Montoya was being heavily courted by Dietrich Mateschitz, billionaire owner of the Red Bull energy drink corporation and Red Bull Racing F1 team. As we now know, Juan gave up on the F1 game for the fame, location, and fortune of NASCAR stock cars.

This move by Juan gave new light to Mark Webber's hopes of scoring a decent F1 ride. Up until then the top teams had their minds made up, excluding McLaren, who were toying with the idea of bringing in Lewis Hamilton over test driver, Pedro De La Rosa. Of course he had to take the last real opportunity, and that is precisely what happened.

Fast forward to present day and this time around Mark Webber is in a much better position to be asking for a new contract. Mark is having, by far, the best season of his career so far in 2008. His team-mate David Coulthard has had an extreme drop off in terms of on-track performance and therefore results, scoring a point in not one race so far this season.

On the flip side Mark has accumulated 10 world championship points, scoring in four of the first five races of the year. If there ever was a time to ask for a new contract extension it would be now, but what are the other options...

Well in the top team department there may be openings at both Renault and BMW. Renault however will be eager to give impressive GP2 development driver Romain Grosjean a shot at the ride currently occupied by Nelson Piquet Jr. BMW, on the other hand, look to already be after Robert Kubica as they hold the option to extend his contract or not. Nick Heidfeld is locked in until the end of the 2009 season so a move to the top seems hard to come by if your name is Mark Webber.

Further down the grid, Honda F1 has no driver under contract for the 2009 season, leaving Jenson Button to possibly look elsewhere, and Rubens Barrichello is likely to retire. Toyota have both Trulli and Glock (reportedly) locked in until 2009 also.

Williams currently have an opening should they not re-sign Kazuki Nakajima, although if he goes, another Toyota developmental driver from Japan would likely step in.

There are other teams obviously, but they become non-options for a driver stating (about being in a 'back of the grid car')..."when you are getting smoked down the back every weekend it is tough, I would rather go ride my mountain bike with my dog."

All in all the only REAL option available to Webber in the Red Bull team. They have showed major improvements season after season, since taking over Jaguar F1 and with the announcement that Torro Rosso is on the selling block, more focus and resources will be funneled into 'the only' Red Bull team.

This steady stream of improvement and Webber's research of the current drivers market have lead him to this contract request, and the timing just couldn't be better. Look for Webber in a Red Bull through 2009.