Webber Retiring From F1 At End Of Year

[Tom 0]

Sad.. gonna miss the best #2 driver in F1

http://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/motor-sport/australian-mark-webber-signs-five-year-deal-to-drive-for-porsche/story-fnhq624b-1226620441226

[JHS18 0]

Been rumoured for a long time now. As a motorsport fan I'd actually prefer to see him at Porsche rather than stay put at Red Bull just to see how it adapts to endurance racing. He has unfinished business with Le Mans after what to him there in 1999 after all.

Still, they'll probably replace him with Ricciardo, so no need to be too distraught.

[Rainmaster 7]

I thought it was only a week ago that somebody posted a link saying "Porsche would welcome Webber" or something similar. I don't know why Porsche would put out a statement like that about Webber if they'd already signed him. Of course, it's possible Webber signed something in the week or so since, though he has been quite busy doing a Grand Prix for much of that time and generally contracts take much longer to thrash out, especially with a new employer.

I'd be surprised if he made such a rash decision following Malaysia, because that's generally not what sports people do and certainly not what you'd expect Webber to do. At the moment this is still an unconfirmed rumour and still feels more like people putting 2+2 and making 5 (and a 5 year deal, really, at Webber's age? When he only signs one year deals with Red Bull? Would be strange).

[Quiet One 15]

On the other hand:

http://www.crash.net/f1/news/189906/1/porsche_refutes_webber_wec_rumours.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss

[Massa 0]

Been rumoured for a long time now. As a motorsport fan I'd actually prefer to see him at Porsche rather than stay put at Red Bull just to see how it adapts to endurance racing. He has unfinished business with Le Mans after what to him there in 1999 after all.

Still, they'll probably replace him with Ricciardo, so no need to be too distraught.

I wouldn't call it probable that someone from STR gets a promotion. Vergne and Ricciardo need to show more to get that call, and so far, only Vettel has ever been promoted (and that was no risk, since he was a race winner). A team like Red Bull isn't going to jeopardize WCC chances, and I'm not sure how they'd feel they wouldn't with one of these two guys (I like Vergne, but he's investigated for something every weekend it seems as he stumbles his way to a low-points finish, while Ricciardo's been pretty invisible in his career until Shanghai).

Hülkenberg's always been linked to that seat, and I know Mateschitz likes to make noise about Räikkönen (not sure I could see that happening, though). Even Massa might be available and while that sounds like a horrible idea, it's...actually a horrible idea, yeah, fine. At this point, I'd take Bianchi over Vergne and Ricciardo if we have to go with your classic "young driver." I'm not sure they will, though. Hülkenberg and di Resta would make more sense, I'd think. They could both play the Webber role pretty well.

I thought it was only a week ago that somebody posted a link saying "Porsche would welcome Webber" or something similar. I don't know why Porsche would put out a statement like that about Webber if they'd already signed him. Of course, it's possible Webber signed something in the week or so since, though he has been quite busy doing a Grand Prix for much of that time and generally contracts take much longer to thrash out, especially with a new employer.

I'd be surprised if he made such a rash decision following Malaysia, because that's generally not what sports people do and certainly not what you'd expect Webber to do. At the moment this is still an unconfirmed rumour and still feels more like people putting 2+2 and making 5 (and a 5 year deal, really, at Webber's age? When he only signs one year deals with Red Bull? Would be strange).

Five year deal would put him in the 37 to 42 age range during his time at Porsche.

Current works LMP1 drivers, by age:

45

43

39

39

37

36

36

33

31

30

29

29

28

28

24

So, it's not totally unrealistic for the sport.

However, it's still a fair point, because he's always done one-year deals, and very few factory sports car programs even last five years. Plus, while it's not impossible to race LMP1 at 42 years old, it's impossible to know if there will be a drop-off in performance, so older athletes do stick to short-term contracts.

Basically, I compiled irrelevant information to then say I think I agree with you.

[JHS18 0]

At the moment this is still an unconfirmed rumour and still feels more like people putting 2+2 and making 5 (and a 5 year deal, really, at Webber's age? When he only signs one year deals with Red Bull? Would be strange).

Because it's a brand new programme. The car isn't even ready yet.

In the history of Le Mans, it has been highly unlikely to see a new manufacturer come in and win the race in their first year. Eric will probably search for some statistics to show how true/untrue that is.

No, I'm joking. My point is though, it'd be a bit silly to sign a one year deal and do no more afterwards with it being a brand new thing. If he wants to reap the rewards (win Le Mans) he needs to stick with it. Arguably Le Mans is harder to win than most Grands Prix.

[The Shadow 0]

Arguably Le Mans is harder to win than most Grands Prix.

Not arguably. It simply just is harder to win Le Mans than a sprint race because of the sheer amount of collaborative effort during the race

[KoolMonkey 0]

If this is true and confirmed at some stage, then I won't shed a tear for a guy who can't even commit to a team more than one year at a time, yet gets all bent out of shape because he realizes the teams priorities are with their better driver who will commit for 3-4 years at a time. Off to Porsche for you, but really you should have signed with Ferrari last year.

[Jean-Pierre 0]

He often started his seasons well, but it was like if he were afraid of winning, fading in the second half if the season. He always behaved well in my book and I'm not so sure he will leave f1. I'll believe when I see mark in another series. I always liked him and will miss him if he leaves.

[KoolMonkey 0]

Seems he's now stating he's happy in F1 and might stick around next year. Have to wonder if he's flip flopping here.

I remember hearing last year how he stated he purposely courted moving to other teams before resigning with RBR. And Flavio also had a go at Horner calling him weak, then within a day totally backtracked and said he respected him. I see this same pattern with Webber. Dropping all the inuendos and voicing his concerns publicly (which a driver should never do, otherwise they are an amatuer in my book and not a professional). He's done alot of damage to the team he calls home. But he's never imho ever looked comfortable in F1. The Jag days were bad, the Williams time, well he had the same car breakdowns and bad starts then as he does now. This guy just doesn't have the luck to ever be anything other than a multiple F1 race winner.

[radical-one 0]

Webber IMO is good driver but not great, not Champion material.

If he retires then he can easily be replaced by any of the younger / hungrier guys....