Webber Leaves More Than An Empty Seat

27th June 2013, Mark Webber confirmed what most already knew, that he would be leaving Red Bull at the end of the season. What we didn't know was that it would be forever when he announced he would be joining Porsche's new LMP1 programme and will compete in a full WEC season.

I'm gutted to hear about it. He is a true talent and Red Bull have lost possibly the brightest personality on the grid.

Irrespective of talent, Webber was F1's last true gentleman. He conducted himself well in the face of adversity, and always gave his 110% even when he was treated poorly.


His smile will be missed, his banter will be missed, his Grosjean jibes will be missed, his good looks will be missed, there is absolutely nothing negative anybody can say about this driver, other than that he should have had a world championship, but was robbed by those who were supposed to protect him.

Glory awaits him with Porsche, that much is certain and like Robert Kubica in WRC, I will follow every single move this man makes.

Where It Leaves Red Bull

As I discussed over at Let's Talk F1, the man to replace Webber will be a difficult process considering the eclectic options.

But Red Bull could find themselves in a bigger mess now than what they already have created.






Mark Webber was undeniably more liked than Sebastian Vettel. This isn't even a personal statement it is fact. Take Silverstone for example, when Vettel retired, the crowd roared, when Webber came second the crowd roared louder. Even in Canada when Vettel won, the crowd there booed him. How do you combat that?

Will any young driver want to join Red Bull? Strange statement but think about it, you know you're going to be oppressed, you've seen the damage Vettel does to team mate's careers, if he's not willing to be a team player why would you join the team?

The attraction of a winning team like Red Bull is exciting, but the better option could be to stay put until another big team opens their doors.

Raikkonen & Vettel are good friends, but the pair could be volatile together.

Big shoes to fill doesn't even come close to how important it is to pick the right guy. Sure a big name like Kimi Raikkonen is attractive, and he would get along with Vettel on a personal level.

However there is absolutely no way Raikkonen would put up with the nonsense that Webber did. The implosion within the team would be cataclysmic and counter productive.

If not Raikkonen then who else? He is the only one who can bring mass quantities of consistency to the table, not to mention experience or skills. 

If they employ a rookie yes the 2nd driver role is filled but out goes everything Mark stood for!

Red Bull have left themselves a ridiculously hard task, but they need to learn from their mistakes.

One of the reasons why the Vettel-Webber relationship was dangerous was because Webber never once signed up for the 2nd driver role, it was thrust unfairly upon him. The next driver if he is young needs to be made fully aware of where he stands in the team. "You are either playing support, or you're not playing at all." 

What the driver needs to say to himself is: "yes I'm here as 2nd driver, but look what I can do." If he is good enough, he will wait until a chance pops up. Then it's up to his inner champion to clinch the golden opportunity. Who will it be? Let me know in the comments.