Formula 1®
Webber rides final Fastest Lap into F1 sunset
Red Bull Racing’s Mark Webber is leaving Formula 1®. But he hasn’t gone quietly into the night. The 2011 DHL Fastest Lap Award winner will be missed, says teammate Sebastian Vettel.
If anyone thought Mark Webber was going to drive quietly into the sunset on the final eve of his Formula 1 career, they were wrong. The Australian wheelman, who looks back on a tenacious twelve-year F1® career, actually turned on the speed in the second half of the 2013 season, reaching the podium five times since the mid-season break. His second-third-second finishes at the final three Grands PrixTM catapulted the sport’s eldest driver into third place on the driver’s table. Considering Webber’s occasional car trouble in the first half of the season, he couldn’t have asked for a better ending to his Formula 1 story. It’s certainly something to be proud of.
“It was a very good finish to my career,” said the 34-year-old after the race. “I want to thank the team, I enjoyed the last few laps,” he added. “It was a very nice way for me to finish.”
We’ll say. His final curtain call – an emotional farewell – was right where it should have been: on the winner’s podium next to teammate and World Champion Sebastian Vettel. To prelude his podium appearance, Mark – known as somewhat of a maverick – savored a race-steward-defying helmetless drive back to the pits, waving to a cheering crowd. On the podium, draped in the Australian flag, he soaked it all up as a Vettel yielded the spotlight to his outgoing teammate.
“It was a very good finish to my career. I want to thank the team, I enjoyed the last few laps. It was a very nice way for me to finish.”
It was an emotional moment and despite the well-known personal animosity between the two Red Bull drivers, it was obvious that both were aware of the significance of the successful chapter that was coming to a close. After the race, the World Champ said: “Surely the fact that he will not be around next year will be a loss for the team. [...]I consider him to be one of the drivers with the most talent we have on the grid.”
Vettel added: “Generally people have a worse impression than the relationship we had. People tend to forget how successful we have been. I think it has been one of the strongest pairings in Formula 1.”
Webber leaves Fastest Lap mark
2011 DHL Fastest Lap Champion Mark Webber is not only leaving Red Bull and Formula One, he is also leaving a fantastic fastest lap legacy. The veteran pilot leaves behind an F1 legacy that includes 9 wins, 42 podiums, 13 pole positions and our favorite number: 19 Fastest Laps. Webber raced seven fastest laps in 2011 on his way to the DHL Fastest Lap Trophy – a feat his teammate Vettel only managed to tie and remains the second most fastest laps in one season since DHL began honoring fastest lap drivers in 2007.
Take a look back at Webber’s fastest lap history at www.dhl.com:
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