{"id":356,"date":"2016-10-13T09:38:04","date_gmt":"2016-10-13T13:38:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonmotorsport.com\/?p=356"},"modified":"2016-10-13T09:38:04","modified_gmt":"2016-10-13T13:38:04","slug":"mark-webber-announces-retirement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2016\/10\/13\/mark-webber-announces-retirement\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Webber Announces Retirement from Motor Racing at End of 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former Formula One<\/strong> race winner and current World Endurance Champion<\/strong> Mark Webber<\/strong>\u00a0announces retirement from motor racing at the end of 2016. His team, Porsche<\/strong>, announced this in a statement today<\/a>. Webber, 40, will make his final competitive race start at the season-ending Six Hours of Bahrain<\/strong> next month.<\/p>\n

Mark Webber Announces Retirement from Motor Racing at End of 2016<\/h2>\n

Early Career and Formula 1<\/h3>\n

Webber\u2019s career took off in sportscars with Mercedes<\/strong> in the late-1990s, where he famously flipped at Le Mans<\/strong> at a 1999 event. He vowed\u00a0to never return to Le Mans.\u00a0However he would return in 2014, 2015, and 2016, but without success.<\/p>\n

Webber started his F1 career with minnows Minardi<\/strong> in 2002. He would score points in his debut at his home race \u2013 the Australian Grand Prix<\/strong>. Webber would move to Jaguar<\/strong> for the following season, followed by Williams<\/strong>.\u00a0He finally would settle in\u00a0Red Bull Racing<\/strong> for 2007. Webber stuck with the team through its building phase, before being given a race-winning car for 2009. Webber won his first race in his 130th<\/sup> attempt in Germany.<\/p>\n

Formula 1\u00a0to WEC<\/h3>\n

A title challenge was in the cards in 2010. However, in a season littered with mistakes from him, teammate Sebastian Vettel<\/strong>, Fernando Alonso<\/strong>, Lewis Hamilton<\/strong>,\u00a0and Jenson Button<\/strong>, Webber found himself pipped by his team mate at the final race of the season. Reliability and struggling to adapt to the new Pirelli tyres hindered Webber for much of the rest of his career. However he would win three races in the Pirelli-shod era. In 2013, Webber famously participated in a battle with Vettel at the Malaysia Grand Prix<\/strong>. This event saw Vettel\u00a0disobey a team order to take the victory away from Webber.<\/p>\n

Webber announced his departure from Formula One to take up a new project with Porsche for 2014. The first season for the new team would be tough, with the year ending in a violent crash. The first victory would come for the trio of Webber, Brendon Hartley<\/strong>, and Timo Bernhard<\/strong>\u00a0in the Six Hours of N\u00fcrburgring<\/strong> \u2013 the scene of Webber\u2019s maiden F1 victory. Four victories in succession launched the trio into championship contention.\u00a0They duly took the title despite reliability issues at the final event.<\/p>\n

End of Career<\/h3>\n

2016, however, has not gone according to plan for the reigning champions. Currently only fourth in the championship, despite three wins on the bounce. As Mark Webber announces retirement, he\u00a0opens up a very hotly sought-after seat in top-level motorsports. The likes of Nick Tandy<\/strong>, Earl Bamber<\/strong>, Mitch Evans<\/strong>, Juan Pablo Montoya<\/strong> and Nico H\u00fclkenberg<\/strong> are believed to be under consideration at this stage to replace \u2018Aussie Grit\u2019 \u2013 one of Australia\u2019s greatest and most successful racing drivers.<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n