Mark Webber said he felt pride in his achievements as a Formula One driver after finishing on the podium in his final race.
Webber took second place in the Brazilian Grand Prix behind team mate Sebastian Vettel. It was his last race before he joins Porsche in the World Endurance Championship next year.
“It was a very good finish to my career,” said Webber. “A good fight with all the guys I enjoyed fighting with for most of my career: Seb, Fernando [Alonso], Lewis [Hamilton], Nico [Rosberg], all the guys which have been in the window for the last five or six years.”
“I want to thank the team, I enjoyed the last few laps,” he added. “It was a very nice way for me to finish.”
“I want to thank everyone in Australia, I wouldn’t be here where I am without the support I had in the early days and it’s been a thoroughly enjoyable career. A great journey, one which I’m proud of. And there’s been so many people who’ve played a special role in my career, so they know who they all are – thankyou very much if you’re watching.
“Enjoy watching Formula One next year with these guys. But off to Porsche, looking forward to it, thank you very much.”
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Image © Red Bull/Getty
Carlitox (@carlitox)
24th November 2013, 18:31
Webber taking off his helmet was pretty badass! Respect to him for leaving F1 before sacrificing his own pride.
Jan (@yancheelaa)
24th November 2013, 19:46
+1 couldn’t agree more. Webber rulezz
Sumedh
24th November 2013, 18:39
Good to see a short speech and not a long farewell one!
Good Luck Webbo! Not your biggest fan, but credit where it is due. You handled the intra-team conflict in Red Bull better than anyone every could have. And all that while maintaining your pride!
Lewis Stroll (@ginola14)
24th November 2013, 18:42
I would love to have seen him race for Ferrari ….. if only he had agreed to their offer last year.
And of course, the way his 2010 season ended remains a bitter disappointment for many Webber fans.
Still, he has had a F1 career to be proud of. In particular his Monaco and Silverstone wins
Oscar (@oscar)
24th November 2013, 21:43
He raced for Ferrari: Brazil 2012, one of them…
Malik (@)
25th November 2013, 2:18
@oscar: Nice one :D
AdrianMorse (@adrianmorse)
24th November 2013, 18:44
I think he bowed out in style. He may not have won a race this season, but he drove pretty strongly today, overtaking Rosberg, Alonso, and Hamilton on the way to second. Also, it’s nice to see him finish his career with a podium. I had a wry smile when David Coulthard mentioned in commentary, on the first lap, that drivers have been known to make contact in the first few corners. Indeed they did, as DC ended his career in a first-lap collision in those corners!
bull mello (@bullmello)
24th November 2013, 18:47
Cheers to Mark Webber! I’ll miss him in F1 next season and wish him success in his new venture.
Magnificent Geoffrey (@magnificent-geoffrey)
24th November 2013, 18:51
As a fan, I’m immensly proud of what Webber did today and how he’s been all weekend.
I think perhaps the ultimate honour for any F1 driver is to be able to decide for yourself when your F1 career ends. How many drivers ever get that opportunity?
A true class act. Formula 1 is very, very much the poorer for his departure. I shall miss him terribly.
Thanks for everything, Mark.
Maeve (@maeve08)
24th November 2013, 18:51
Thank you Mark Webber and good luck on WEC!
DaveF1 (@davef1)
24th November 2013, 18:52
Gonna miss Mark next season. Proud to have been a fan of him since the Jag days. All the best at Porsche Mark =)
F1 Noob (@noob)
24th November 2013, 19:22
Happy for Mark Webber, still a little bit of umbilical cord intact with F1, having to appear in the award ceremony for finishing the season on 3rd. Having said that, I loved Webber’s ‘Taking off the Helmet’ act, it looked wonderful. I always wondered how an F1 driver would look without the helmet driving a car.
Red Andy (@red-andy)
24th November 2013, 19:37
Seems like such a short time ago that a young Australian dragged his Minardi into the points on his F1 debut, and his home grand prix. It took him long enough to win his first race after spending a lot of time in the midfield, but it was one of the few universally popular wins in the paddock. Shame the way his 2010 season ended but at least he got a decent amount of success after all that frustration earlier on. On the whole I think Mark will be missed. I hope he finds endurance racing more enjoyable.
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
24th November 2013, 19:54
I do hope the stewards decide to give him a 10 place grid penalty for the next race after removing his helmet!
Vettel pretty much summed it up: they didn’t have the best relationship at Red Bull, but the respect was always there and the results came. I will remember him for his Red Bull days as I’m a comparative “newby” to the sport, mainly for his memorable fights within the team and just losing out in 2010.
Thanks mate.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
24th November 2013, 20:15
Thank you so, so much, Mark. You made my mornings/afternoons for the past 6 years. I’ll miss you so much…
Wesley (@)
24th November 2013, 20:48
Another great one is gone…..Thanks Mark
Superleggera (@superleggera)
24th November 2013, 21:26
Finishing in second place today seems completely appropriate analogy for his career…
Oli Littlejohn (@olilittlejohn)
24th November 2013, 21:55
+1!!
Joao Pitol (@)
24th November 2013, 22:51
I would have loved to see Vettel handing that victory to Webber.
Mouse_Nightshirt (@mouse_nightshirt)
25th November 2013, 0:23
You know, I think he was attempting to before Lewis and Bottas collided and there was a threat of a safety car. It’s hard to say, but I found Vettel lapping 10+ seconds slower on that lap and letting cars unlap themselves was pointing towards a handover. It’ll be interesting to hear the explanation on those couple of laps.
I doubt Mark would have wanted to win that way though.
Pink Peril (@pink-peril)
24th November 2013, 23:24
Bye Webber and thanks for the memories. Too many to mention but the ‘Britney’s in the wall’ and ‘not bad for a number two driver’ have to rank up there with the greatest radio comments ever.
JackySteeg (@jackysteeg)
25th November 2013, 0:32
Sad to see him leave F1, but happy to see him start his career anew. The only thing I’m sad about is that there is so little BS in the WEC that his outspoken honest nature will probably go to waste! Thanks Mark, looking forward to seeing you at Silverstone in April!
GeeMac (@geemac)
25th November 2013, 4:44
Well done Mark, give ’em hell in WEC next year!