"Seb is very, very good, no question about it. Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber's relationship gradually deteriorated after they teamed up in 2009īut despite Vettel's aggressive approach to competing with his team-mate, Webber cannot ignore the German's talents. Vettel also disobeyed the now infamous "Multi 21" team orders to pass Webber in this year's Malaysian Grand Prix. The duo clashed several times during their partnership, most notably in the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix, when they collided while battling for the lead. But almost instantly, Vettel seized control. Webber was team leader at Red Bull before the young German joined in 2009. So why did he never win the World Championship? Well firstly, he came up against one of the greats of the sport - Vettel. Three third-place finishes in the drivers' standings - in 2010, 2011 and this season - were as good as it got. Having qualified 18th out of 22 cars in the opening race of the season in Australia, Webber finished a remarkable fifth, scoring two points on his debut.įrom there, he drove for Jaguar and Williams before ending his career with seven seasons at Red Bull. Three years later, he was a fully fledged F1 driver for Stoddart's backmarker Minardi team. Webber later spoke to Eddie Jordan, who was running his own F1 team, and the Irishman put him in touch with Australian Paul Stoddart, who gave him a drive in Formula 3000 and his first taste of F1 as an Arrows test driver, in 1999. In 1997, he was almost forced to quit halfway through his British Formula Three campaign before Australian rugby union legend David Campese stepped in and loaned him £40,000 so he could continue racing. While four-time world champion Vettel had the luxury of being part of the Red Bull driver programme external-link from his teens, Webber was scratching around for sponsorship to secure drives in various categories in Europe, having moved over from Australia. To be fair to Webber, just getting to F1 was a brilliant achievement. Teams: Minardi, Jaguar, Williams, Red Bull. Am I as good as multiple world champions? Probably not." I don't have it but I'm still very proud of what I achieved. "You're measured on championships so do I see myself in the same calibre as some of the single world champions in the sport? I do see that. I never would have thought I would have had a grand prix career of 215 races and banging out 42 podiums and some very special victories. "I think I did my absolute best at the time. "My dream as a kid growing up in Australia was to make it to F1," said the 37-year-old, who will race in sportscars next season. Mark Webber scored points on home soil in his Formula 1 debut with backmarkers Minardi in 2002 He says he achieved his childhood dream by making it into the sport but looking back admits that, while he knew he was never going to be an all-time great, he believes he had what it takes to join that exclusive 32-man club. Win it more than three times and you'll be placed among the greats such as Michael Schumacher, Juan Manuel Fangio, Alain Prost and, after this season, Sebastian Vettel.īut fail to win it at all and you'll forever just be a number, one of more than 800 drivers who tried and failed. Win it just once and you'll cement your name in the sport's annals alongside a select few - just 32 have managed it in the sport's 63-year history. Getting your hands on that shiny trophy, at a glittering FIA prize-giving gala in Paris in front of all of your rivals, is what every driver lucky enough to make it into F1 aspires to. But the Australian missed out on the ultimate prize: the World Championship, most agonisingly in 2010.
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