Mark Webber’s 200 F1 races in pictures

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Mark Webber’s last F1 start was the 200th time he’s seen the red lights go out at a Grand Prix.

Webber took a long time to get to the top of Formula One but now has nine race victories to his name and came close to winning the championship in 2010.

Here’s a look back on his career so far in pictures.

2002-2004: Minardi and Jaguar

After finishing runner-up in Formula 3000 in 2001, Webber was signed by fellow Australian Paul Stoddart to race for Minardi in 2002. He scored a dream debut result at home in Melbourne, coming home fifth after a first-lap shunt.

That prompted Jaguar to hire him as a replacement for the departing Eddie Irvine for 2003. But a front-row start at Malaysia was one of few occasions when the green cars showed the potential to challenge the front runners.

2005-2006: Williams

A move to BMW-powered Williams for 2005 promised to be Webber’s first shot in a car capable of challenging for race victories. He duly scored his first podium finish in Monaco but the team’s form dipped as the year went on and the relationship between chassis builder and engine supplier was severed.

This was a galling blow for Webber, who’d passed up a chance to join Renault. During his Williams tenure Renault wrapped up both constructors’ championships and took Fernando Alonso to the drivers’ titles.

Meanwhile Webber failed to make it to the podium during 2006, though he was in the running at Monaco until his car let him down.

2007-2009: Red Bull

The writing was on the wall at Williams so Webber opted for a return of sorts to a previous team. Jaguar had been taken over by Red Bull and new team principal Christian Horner had successfully lured Adrian Newey away from McLaren.

Webber was back on the podium at a rain-hit race at the Nurburgring. But while running second in Japan he was taken out by Sebastian Vettel, who was making his sixth start for Toro Rosso.

The two would soon get to know each other much better. Vettel joined Red Bull in 2009 and gave the team its first victory in China, Webber finishing second just three races after breaking his leg in a pre-season cycling crash.

Webber’s wait for a maiden Grand Prix triumph finally ended at his 132nd race appearance in that year’s German Grand Prix. It was soon followed by a second win in Brazil.

2010: Red Bull

The 2010 season was Webber’s most competitive to date, though it ultimately ended in disappointment for him. Back-to-back wins in Spain and Monaco tied him and Vettel at the top of the points standings, but at the next race they controversially collided in Turkey.

Webber added a third win at Silverstone despite having to give up a front wing upgrade to his team mate who was heading him in the points standings going into the race.

Win number four in Hungary came amid more internal rancour. Vettel led early on but received a drive-through penalty after being asked to hold up the field during a safety car period to assist Webber.

Despite clashing with Lewis Hamilton in Singapore, Webber retained the lead of the championship heading into the Japanese Grand Prix. But another cycling accident left him with an injured shoulder, the details of which he kept to himself until after the season.

A crash in the wet Korean Grand Prix was a major blow to his title hopes. He went into the final round behind Fernando Alonso in the points yet in a stunning upset neither of them claimed the title – Vettel grabbing it instead.

2011-2013: Red Bull

Relations between Vettel and Webber have hardly improved in the years since. Vettel was in crushing form in 2011 as Webber found the handling characteristics of the RB7 with its powerful exhaust-blown diffuser less to his liking than his team mate.

Webber enjoyed a better 2012 following the banning of the technology, winning twice and leading Vettel in the points at mid-season. But poor luck with unreliability and collisions later in the year held him back as Vettel scooped title number three.

The 2013 season had barely begun when hostilities between the two, fired by further skirmishes in the previous season, spilled out onto the track. In Malaysia Vettel disobeyed an instruction to stay behind Webber and passed him to win.

In the light of the increasingly fractious relationship between the pair, it remains to be seen if Webber will stick around for another season at the team with which he has enjoyed so much success.

Webber reached his 200th start in the same race as another driver: Fernando Alonso. See his career in pictures here:

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Images © Ford.com, BMW ag, Williams/LAT, Red Bull/GEPA, Red Bull/Getty, F1 Fanatic, Andy Lees (In Focus With The World), Boris 1964

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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57 comments on “Mark Webber’s 200 F1 races in pictures”

  1. A really golden album. I really love these snapshot-timeline thingies. Really good idea, Keith. And a good selection too!!!

    1. I really love these snapshot-timeline thingies.

      @wsrgo – me too. in fact, I’ve told @keithcollantine on numerous occasions that the photo features are perhaps my favorite aspect to the site!

  2. Couple of things; Turkey 2010 came straight after Webber’s 2 back to back wins, not 2 races later, I think that was significant to Vettel’s actions that day.
    And was Vettel really asked to hold up the field, to aid Webber? If so I’m sure the team never meant for that to result in Vettel’s penalty and so switch Webber from a solid 2nd to Vettel to first place over him.

    1. @katederby Changed the first thing. And about Vettel holding the field up, yes he was told to by the team though of course they didn’t mean for him to do it to the extent that he got a penalty! This came to light after the season had finished, several months after the grand prix, which is why it’s not in contemporary race reports.

      If you recall the race, Vettel was leading Alonso and Webber initially, then the safety car came out. Vettel and Alonso pitted but Webber stayed out and took the lead. At the restart Red Bull wanted Vettel to hold Alonso back a bit (without breaking the ‘keep within ten car lengths’ rule), which he did, but he misjudged it and got a penalty. Webber was able to make his pit stop and resume in the lead, but Vettel’s drive-through penalty dropped him behind Alonso.

      1. Do you have a source that he was asked to hold up the field directly? First i’ve heard of that one.

        1. @infi24r Here you go:

          Vettel had actually tried to help the team [in Hungary] by allowing Webber as much of a headstart as possible so the Australian’s tyre strategy would pay off – but slipped up by not remembering the mandatory distance he had to stay behind him. That earned Vettel a drive-through penalty – and gifted Webber a vital victory.

          1. I do remember hearing that as a rumor, it was the story Marko came out with a few months later. No one official from the team like Horner has stated it, i’ve never heard any radio messages to the effect which you think would be published.

            Also if the team told him to do that they’d remind him about the mandatory distance.

            I’ll remain skeptical about it, Vettel’s official word after the race was that he was unaware the restart was that lap due to a radio problem. I’ll take him to be honest.. lol.

          2. @infi24r I get that some people don’t like Marko and he’s certainly not impartial when it comes to Vettel and Webber. But to go from that to accusing him of making things up and lying about them several months after the fact is a bit much.

            I don’t doubt that Vettel had a radio problem. But that fact and the point that Red Bull wanted him to back the field up to help Webber get ahead of Alonso – which was in the interests of everyone in the team – are not mutually exclusive. Nor am I saying they did not try to remind him about the regulations.

          3. @keithcollantine , I get that you are too biased on Vettle and Webber issue every time it goes to the wire here in your blog. The story of him holding up the field to lay an advantage to Mark is very new. I have the season review video & I watched it to look up for such things but guess what all I found was that Vettle really really unhappy with the drive through and before entering the pit(after the race) he was not aware that the team could listen him or not on the radio. So how does it make him or the team know that it was a strategy to give Mark an advantage that earned Vettle a drive through?
            And also @keithcollantine I can understand that you have a clear favorite in Vettle but you are a reporter and you run a wonderful blog but you cannot be biased. Previously I have seen you write that sounds ‘Mark was treated with its own medicine’ after the Malaysian hallaballuh & you stated instances from Silverstone 2011 and Turkey 2010 but Did Mark made a move what Vettle did? He was fighting in Silverstone,Vettle was slow and he was repeatedly being told to hold the station but in Malaysia this year it was choreographed to make Mark and Vettle finish in the same position before Vettle denied(I would have done the same) but it wasn’t what ‘Mark got his own medicine’. Mark was told to do so. What went wrong with Vettle’s move was that he didnot accept the win at that moment and felt guilty of disobeying his move. But he took a 360 degree turn what he said before the China GP. With all his ********* saying ‘Mark doesn’t deserve the win’. He should have told this on the race. But that was Vettle. I am a huge fan of both Seb and Mark.
            So my point is to you @keithcollantine with all due respect is have some respect.

          4. @ambikm As I’ve said before, I believe Vettel was just as right to ignore team orders at Malaysia this year as Webber was at Silverstone in 2011. I have nothing for or against either driver.

            The story of him holding up the field to lay an advantage to Mark is very new.

            No it isn’t, look at the link above, it’s from November 2010.

            I have the season review video & I watched it to look up for such things

            You surely don’t expect every detail about every race to be covered in the season review video?

            In this case it’s hardly surprising it wasn’t mentions as the facts only came to light in November, by which point the season review DVD will have been close to going on sale.

            And as I’ve also said before I do not believe that striving for objectivity and expressing opinions are mutually exclusive.

      2. Right, I don’t remember the details but the way it was written seemed to infer that RBR asked Vettel to help Webber to the win, which, as you say, was never the plan! Vettel was helping secure a 1-2 finish but made a mistake and get himself the penalty.

      3. A very interesting piece of information, and it was news to me. Perhaps this is also contributed to Vettel’s actions in Malaysia a few races back. Sebastian stated that Mark didn’t deserve the team order, because on occasions he didn’t help Vettel when he could have, whereas he did do something for Webber in Hungary 2010, and it even brought Mark the victory!

  3. Really nice compilation! And I think a fair reflection of Webber’s career so far, too.

  4. This must be my favorite picture: the colors are magnificent, utter perfection.

    1. Agreed. Great shot

    2. That’s a good shot but this ones far better ;)

      1. Haha, agreed :)

  5. No Melbourne 2002 picture here? That’s a shame. Still, a great album. :)

  6. Happy 200th ! :) I’ve been a fan of Mark since Jag days, but really decided to make him my top driver in 2008.

    I love cheering for the underdogs, so I never thought a driver I cheered for would fight for a championship like MW did in 2010. It was so stressful in the end. I had exams and the championship final was around the corner.

    It’s funny when things go wrong in the sport you love. that weekend is well among saddest and most dissapointing weekends ever for me. It was a hard one to swallow…

    1. Hear hear, +1!

    2. Me too, my father and I still lament Webber losing 2010 every couple of weeks.

  7. It’s amazing how many people today (most of them newcomers into F1 so they don’t really understand) can ignore or disregard Webber’s performances in the early-mid ’00s because of Vettel. He dragged a Minardi into the points on debut, qualified Jaguars on the front row, wrestled a horrendously unreliable Williams to places it shouldn’t have been.

    That was his prime I think. Definitely think he would have gotten a championship if he’d been in a decent car then (hindsight’s a wonderful thing, why didn’t you go to Renault in ’05 Mark?!?). Regardless, the Vettel fans can scream at Mark ’till the cows come home, he always be a champion to me.

    1. @metalluigi I actually hold Webber in very high regard and find the opposite to be true: it is the Alonso fans who make it out to be that Vettel beating Webber is “no big achievement”. I think he’s got the qualifying speed to rival all bar Vettel and Hamilton and on his day he can beat the best of the best.

      That there is the key thing which stops him from being a true great in my eyes though; “on his day”. He doesn’t have the consistent performance that in particular Alonso and Vettel have, which is why I he isn’t a champion to me: in order to be the best of the best (which is what a champion is) you have to beat the best. He falls short of that.

      It’s hardly insulting though that he falls short of drivers in the caliber of Alonso and Vettel (who I truly think are some of the best drivers we have ever seen) – in fact, I think it is rather to his credit that he can even beat them on occassion in equal machinery!

      1. which is why I he

        @glue I still would call it a good performance nontheless.

      2. @vettel1 +1
        @metalluigi – I consider Webber to be a very good driver. Don’t know where you got the idea of Vettel fans “screaming”. In fact, it’s the opposite. Webber gets talked down to make Vettel appear as if he hasn’t got a decent benchmark.

        Webber was often great for the Jaguar, in 2003 in particular.

    2. The front rows with the Jaguar were due to low fuel loads.

      1. @vettel1
        I’m not too sure how you can claim that.

        Mark Webber was beaten by Nick Heidfeld when they were teammates in 2005, both driving for Williams F1. back then, Mark was 29 and in the prime of his career; so I’m not too sure on how you can claim that Vettel beating a 36 year old, washed up version is a huge achievement.

        Also, as someone previously stated, those Jaguar front rows were achieved with low fuel loads compared to the cars around him. Also, he had no significant teammate as a benchmark at this time, so perhaps the Jaguar cars were actually pretty good.

        Webber is a nice guy, and a solid driver, but you are taking it way too far. He can only perform well around Barcelona, Monaco, Silverstone, Nurburgring and Interlagos. He struggles elsewhere.

        1. Mark Webber was beaten by Nick Heidfeld when they were teammates in 2005

          No, he was not. Webber finished the season ahead of Hedfield, 36 points to 28, and also beat Hedfield in qualifying – as he did all his teammates prior to Vettel.

          1. @jonsan

            Webber finished the season ahead of Hedfield, 36 points to 28, and also beat Hedfield in qualifying

            That he did, but Heidfeld didn’t start the last five races. Over the period they were team mates, Heidfeld won the points count 28 to 24.

          2. That he did, but Heidfeld didn’t start the last five races.

            I don’t see how you can hold that against Webber.

        2. perhaps the Jaguar cars were actually pretty good.

          Perhaps Alonso’s Minardi was also pretty good? After all, he had no significant teammate when he drove it.

          1. That he did, but Heidfeld didn’t start the last five races. Over the period they were team mates, Heidfeld won the points count 28 to 24.

            Spot on.

            Webber, throughout his career, has been a solid driver, but never a top driver. 2010 was his best chance to win the WDC, I’d have preferred for him to win it over Vettel at the time, but in hindsight, IMO he didn’t deserve it as much.

          2. Webber, throughout his career, has been a solid driver, but never a top driver.

            It’s true he’s no Vettel or Alonso, but that’s not an entirely reasonable comparison. Robin van Persie is no Messi or Ronaldo, but that doesn’t mean he’s a solid journeyman type football player.

            Viewed at a higher level of resolution than “all time greats” and “the rest”, Webber is an above average driver, somebody who might well have won a WDC or two in a different era, somebody who could even win a WDC against Vettel and Alonso if luck breaks his way. He’s a better driver than post-crash Massa, and better than Button as well.

          3. @keith

            That he did, but Heidfeld didn’t start the last five races. Over the period they were team mates, Heidfeld won the points count 28 to 24.

            Heidfield won over the season (with his season shortened) but IMO looking at the races together Webber was always the quicker driver, it just never showed in the points as Webber has never been consistent (just poor pace on the w/e, reliability issues, just plain bad luck) which where I thought he would have fixed by now. Hence the non-WDC. I’d rather a quicker Webber than a Heidfield who just collects points. Problem is Webber’s consistency hasn’t improved, being an era of regulations that don’t suit his driving style and a team where you aren’t the favored driver I think he has done well for himself. How many other drivers have actually been picked from a back marker team to a top team these days?

        3. @kingshark I really don’t know where you’ve found such a great rant from what I’ve said. I wasn’t saying Vettel beating Webber is the greatest achievement in formula 1 history as you seem to be insinuating, I said it’s not “no big achievement”: that is to say, I think Webber fares well against the like of Vettel but again isn’t on their level as I also made quite clear.

          I rate him in the top 5 or so drivers on the grid, which with the current quality of the grid is high praise. In no way though do I think he’s with the big guns with regards to consistent performance. So how you think I’m taking it “too far” is beyond me.

          1. (@vettel1) I find the likes of Webber and Button frustrating and confusing at times. They clearly have the talent to beat the likes of Alonso and Hamilton on their good days, but their good days seem so sporadic and quite random – though Webber’s are less random, as he clearly has some tracks well suited to him. You see it in other drivers at times too, when their minds seem to hinder their talent, if that makes sense.

            To me, Webber simply doesn’t feel comfortable with this new generation of cars/tyres etc, and in 2013 he seems to be more excited by the prospect of surfing, than working (though in RB at the moment, who can really blame him?). It’s sad, as I’m sure most would agree he’s easily one of the most likeable guys on the grid, and has been repeatedly screwed by a team that’s supposed to be on his side. Increasingly he seems to be heading towards the ‘what-might-have-been’ drivers of history, particularly considering how brightly he shone earlier on in his career. Sad times.

          2. @sgt-pepper agreed on all accounts except for this:

            and has been repeatedly screwed by a team that’s supposed to be on his side

            I define it as being beaten by Vettel and no more. The only major incident is the front wing fiasco in Silverstone and that’s even debatable. The simple fact is, no team would deliberately hinder their chances in the constructor’s championship (except Ferrari, as they favour the driver’s quite clearly but I have no issue with that as it’s just their philosophy).

            For Webber and Button though, the fact they are inconsistent – particularly towards the end of the season – I think just shows because the others are better! The top guys are always in contention if the car is there, which is what sets them apart.

  8. Nice article. I really like the 04 Jag pictures. That car and the Minardi were pretty cool looking machines. Mark is a top 2nd tier driver. When he is on, he can be the best and beat the best. If he was a little more consistent, he would have been a champion in 2010. Over all, he has had a pretty solid career.

  9. Chris (@tophercheese21)
    30th April 2013, 14:28

    Great pictorial to the most genuine bloke in Formula One!

    Thanks Keith!

  10. Webber has driven some pretty cars in his time! His success around Monaco, the Nurburgring and Silverstone are quite remarkable. He really does up his game when he goes to those tracks.

  11. Very good driver, though it must be said he never was and never will be champion material. But that’s alright not everyone is.

  12. Well done Webber…

  13. I’ve always thought of Mark as a driver who is very quick, but who too often gets into trouble on race day. Of course, he has suffered more than his share of bad luck with unreliable machinery, but he’s also had himself to blame more often than not. Often something happens that sets him back (usually a poor start), and from there things go from bad to worse, for example he gets stuck in traffic, wears his tyres out more quickly than those around him, gets into a coliision, and goes further backwards in the race.

    That is one reason why I think 2010 was his best season to date. He finally seemed to have broken that spell of Sunday misfortunes, and was delivering results consistently. One example is the Singapore Grand Prix, where he didn’t qualify well, and opted to make a very early pit stop under the safety car. Instead of getting stuck in traffic, he passed enough to people to make his strategy work, and fended off two McLarens on very old tyres to finish on the podium.

    The final weekend of the season was extra disappointing as it saw him struggle on Sunday like he hadn’t done all year. He qualified poorly after a very dubious strategy from Red Bull (doing one multi-lap run instead of two runs – and I know Vettel made it work, but only just), then got stuck in traffic in the race and finished well down the order. A missed opportunity of immense proportions, and not one I think he will have again.

    1. (@adrianmorse)

      Often something happens that sets him back (usually a poor start), and from there things go from bad to worse

      This x 1000. When he doesn’t have a poor start, he’s generally jostling with the front runners. But for reasons I don’t understand, Webber just can’t seem to get off the line properly. It’s bizarre, and I don’t know if it’s that he’s never figured out his start sequence properly, or if he just chokes, but at every start you can basically expect him to slide back down the running order.

  14. While going through these pictures the first thing that came to my mind is “What Could’ve been”… He was so impressive in his initial years and yet finally when he got his big break(Redbull) he failed to make the most of it… 2010 was his best shot for glory and sadly I don’t see him fighting for anymore championships.. I don’t think he has it in him to take the fight to Vettel in an identical car… I would be very happy if he proves me wrong…

    1. first thing that came to my mind is “What Could’ve been”

      @puneethvb – life is a lot more enjoyable when you don’t go through it focusing on the negative in others (and yourself)…

      1. @joepa

        I am not trying to find out any negatives here.. I really like Webber though he is nt my favorite driver … But facts are facts and I feel he achieved much less than what he was capable of… If I was Mark I would certainly be disappointed not to have won the championship yet..

  15. Seriously, how the hell does he jump that high?

    1. I was wondering that myself ..

    2. @kingshark @jonsan that jump and the gesture in his face has been in my nightmares… I swear a ZOMBIE will come to eat my brain wearing that face

    3. When Webber was 9 years old he was kidnapped by a feral kangaroo named Jim. Jim taught him various integral life lessons, the most important of which was the ability to leap 6ft in the air, legs akimbo screaming. Why did he teach Webber this indispensable skill? Only Sonny Hammond knows…

      1. Not only that, but Jim taught Webber to leap in the air, and even somersault, while wearing a car. This talent Webber has bravely displayed in every formula he has raced in, including sports cars (Le Mans, Mercedes) and F1 (Valencia, Red Bull).

        Indeed, the big surprise for me was that in every photo above Webber and his car are the right way up. The montage is not complete with at least one shot of Webber strapped into an inverted car in mid air at 200Mph.

        Peter

        1. He even bunny hopped in an F1 car too (China 2012)!

          1. So webber can bunny hop and backflip cars, and now grosjean has shown us he can cartwheel his car over another car. Whats next? Hamilton does a 360 in mid air? Alonso does a kickflip? Maybe vettel will do an endo?

  16. Webber is a great driver, a true professional, and as a fan I’ve enjoyed following his career.

  17. Webber has a very impressive carreer. The only thing missing there is realy the driving championship.
    For me this pilot reminds me other 2nd best pilots in the past. Berger, Barrichelo and so and so. It’s a shame because he looks like a nice guy. But beeing a nice guy doesn’t win championships.
    Someone of you may notice that i’m a Vettel fan, but trully i want to see for the next races a fighting Webber, doing whenever he can to win…
    Cheers for the 200th. I’m here wainting for the next 200th.

  18. @keithcollantine Hi Keith! I’m having some trouble loading some of the pictures for a while now, and I wonder if it has to do with the site because I’ve never had such a problem before and have tried loading them using different internet connections. If you could look into it I’d really appreciate it.

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