Red Bull’s Mark Webber has announced he will leave Formula 1 at the end of the season to join Porsche’s 2014 LMP1 programme.
The Australian has had a fractious relationship with the team since the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix, and has since seen Webber sign one-year contracts with the team.
The sometimes difficult relationship was further underlined by the ‘Multi-21’ scandal at this season’s Malaysian Grand Prix, which saw team-mate Vettel disobey team orders to take the race victory from Webber.
Since the debacle, Webber has been linked to Stuttgart manufacturer and its forthcoming return to sportscar racing; a category in which he competed prior to breaking into Formula 1 in 2002.
Despite both Webber and Porsche denying the rumours at first, both parties revealed to today that they will join forces for 2014.
This will bring the 36-year old’s 12-year Formula 1 career to a close, which has seen him take nine grands prix victories, 11 pole positions and 36 podium finishes; each of which has been with Red Bull who he joined in 2008.
“It's an honour for me to join Porsche at its return to the top category in Le Mans and in the sports-car World Endurance Championship and be part of the team,'' said the Australian. “Porsche has written racing history as a manufacturer and stands for outstanding technology and performance at the highest level.
''I'm very much looking forward to this new challenge after my time in formula one.
“Porsche will undoubtedly set itself very high goals. I can hardly wait to pilot one of the fastest sports cars in the world.”
Porsche research and development board member, Wolfgang Hatz, also echoed Webber’s enthusiasm for both parties’ forthcoming challenge.
“I'm very pleased to have secured Mark Webber for our LMP1 project as one of the best and most successful formula one pilots of our time,” said Hatz. “Mark is without doubt one of the world's best race drivers. He has experience at the Le Mans 24-hour race and on top of that he's been a Porsche enthusiast for many years.”
Line-up
Competing in the new LMP1 car alongside Mark Webber are the two long-standing Porsche works drivers Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France) as well as the ex-Formula 1 test driver Neel Jani (Switzerland).
The Australian has had a fractious relationship with the team since the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix, and has since seen Webber sign one-year contracts with the team.
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| Mark Webber, winner in Silverstone 2012. (Photo: WRi2) |
The sometimes difficult relationship was further underlined by the ‘Multi-21’ scandal at this season’s Malaysian Grand Prix, which saw team-mate Vettel disobey team orders to take the race victory from Webber.
Since the debacle, Webber has been linked to Stuttgart manufacturer and its forthcoming return to sportscar racing; a category in which he competed prior to breaking into Formula 1 in 2002.
Despite both Webber and Porsche denying the rumours at first, both parties revealed to today that they will join forces for 2014.
This will bring the 36-year old’s 12-year Formula 1 career to a close, which has seen him take nine grands prix victories, 11 pole positions and 36 podium finishes; each of which has been with Red Bull who he joined in 2008.
“It's an honour for me to join Porsche at its return to the top category in Le Mans and in the sports-car World Endurance Championship and be part of the team,'' said the Australian. “Porsche has written racing history as a manufacturer and stands for outstanding technology and performance at the highest level.
''I'm very much looking forward to this new challenge after my time in formula one.
“Porsche will undoubtedly set itself very high goals. I can hardly wait to pilot one of the fastest sports cars in the world.”
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| Photo: Porsche |
Porsche research and development board member, Wolfgang Hatz, also echoed Webber’s enthusiasm for both parties’ forthcoming challenge.
“I'm very pleased to have secured Mark Webber for our LMP1 project as one of the best and most successful formula one pilots of our time,” said Hatz. “Mark is without doubt one of the world's best race drivers. He has experience at the Le Mans 24-hour race and on top of that he's been a Porsche enthusiast for many years.”
Line-up
Competing in the new LMP1 car alongside Mark Webber are the two long-standing Porsche works drivers Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France) as well as the ex-Formula 1 test driver Neel Jani (Switzerland).