Popular Webber’s on last lap of F1 career

As Sebastian Vettel races towards a fourth successive World Drivers’ Championship, Mark Webber is nearing his Formula 1 farewell.

The Australian is one of the most popular drivers on the circuit for his honesty and attitude. However, he will leave the sport once the final Grand Prix of the season in Brazil is over.

He has been in F1 for over a decade since his debut in 2002, but it’s in the colours of Red Bull that he has made his name.

Webber switched to the team in 2007 and has been part of its rise to the top of the sport.

One of his final tasks will be to help them secure the Constructors’ title for the fourth consecutive season.

Webber will leave the sport wondering if he could ever have become World Champion in his own right.

He has secured nine race wins, 28 other podium finishes and 11 pole positions during a sterling career, but has never managed higher than third in the final standings.

But he leaves having won some famous races. He’s twice been victorious at Silverstone, Monaco and Interlagos in Brazil.

Despite these fine performances, the 37-year-old has often felt that rather than being on equal terms, Vettel has been Red Bull’s preferred driver.

The efforts of the Milton Keynes-based team have centred on the young German, rather than giving Webber a fair shot at glory.

That frustration has bubbled along until it all boiled over in March this year.

Vettel disobeyed team orders to hold his position and instead overtook Webber in the closing stages to win in Malaysia.

Vettel apologised but the relationship between the two men had already cooled.

But with this his last year under contract at Red Bull, Webber has chosen a new path.

He announced in June that he would be joining Porsche in 2014 as part of their sports car programme.

That means he’ll lead the famous car’s bid to win the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race next year.

Webber will be much missed by those who love Formula 1.

He has the typical Aussie attitude of playing hard but fair.

And away from the race track, he is never afraid to voice his opinion, even if it doesn’t follow the politically-correct tone that the sport would prefer.

In 2011, he was the only driver to say he didn’t think the Bahrain Grand Prix should go ahead when that country was in turmoil.

It was that same desire to stand up for himself that took him from his home in New South Wales to Europe and the heart of motorsport.

Webber graduated through the ranks and then from the back of the grid to the front, once he got to F1.

He may not leave as a World Champion but he’s someone who has earned everybody’s respect, and will be missed.

“I’m very much looking forward to this new challenge after my time in Formula 1,” he says.

“I can hardly wait to pilot one of the fastest sports cars in the world.

“The timing’s very good for me to make this decision. I’ve really enjoyed my time in F1 and I’ve had a career that I’m proud of and I’m looking to add some more memories before I finish.

“But this is a fresh challenge. The opportunity was there and the timing was right.”