Mark Webber is one of those F1 drivers who often get forgotten over time. But Webber’s F1 career will always remain etched in the sport’s history owing to the battles he had with Sebastian Vettel during their dominant years from 2010 to 2013.
The Australian former driver was a mainstay at Red Bull Racing before Vettel usurped him as the team leader to string together a juggernaut of four consecutive world titles. The overall dynamic between the two drivers escalated so much that Webber ended up leaving F1 altogether at the end of 2013.
Still, that five-year period from 2009 — when Red Bull first emerged as a top team — to 2013 saw Webber win nine Grands Prix and even fight for the championship on two occasions. In fact, he was a frontrunner to beat Fernando Alonso to the 2010 title.
Had it not been for an untimely bad strategy call, Webber could’ve been a world champion that season. Apparently, that championship went to his teammate Vettel, who never looked back post that. Webber, on the other hand, felt frustrated as he had to serve as the effective number two driver to the German, which wasn’t acceptable to him.
But Vettel was a in a league of its own during those years, taking poles and wins at a canter.
The tipping point of the former Red Bull duo’s rivalry came in 2013 in Malaysia. Infamously getting the moniker of the ‘Multi-21’ incident, Vettel and Webber’s skirmish for the lead at the Sepang International Circuit went down in history as one of the most unforgettable controversies between teammates.
#OTD in 2013…
“Multi 21 Seb. Yeah, Multi 21!” #RedBull #Vettel #Webber #F1 #Formula1 pic.twitter.com/JLy579krPR
— PlanetF1 (@Planet_F1) March 24, 2023
As Vettel overtook him against team orders from Red Bull to win that Malaysian GP, Webber frustratingly criticized the German on team radio as he felt he deserved that race win. While the Aussie accepted his fate later on, he knew it was beyond his limits to keep tolerating Vettel’s unnecessary aggression.
After retiring from F1 in 2013, Webber did have a successful stint in the World Endurance Championship (WEC), where he won the 2015 championship with Porsche in the LMP1 class, taking four victories. Even in 2016, he racked up four wins before retiring from motorsport altogether.
Post racing, Webber got into driver management
Webber currently runs his driver management company, JAM Sports management, along with his wife Ann Neal. Besides Ann, he has his CEO Jason Allen, and they have been actively managing one of F1’s promising young talents — Oscar Piastri.
Apparently, Ann also served as the former Red Bull driver’s manager, so she has an ample amount of experience to smoothly run the operations. Their biggest achievement was to onboard Piastri, who had been garnering a lot of spotlight in the junior formula categories.
Even though the Melbourne-born driver did not land an F1 seat straightaway after his F2 title triumph in 2021, Webber and his management were actively looking to get Piastri on the grid and they succeeded in finding the perfect team.
Despite Piastri being an Alpine reserve driver, Webber approached McLaren to sign Piastri in July 2022. While their negotiations gave rise to contractual controversy with the French team, Piastri and Webber were firm about their intention to sign with McLaren.
The legal tussle went in their favor and the former Red Bull man ensured his young compatriot got a shot at a promising team. In hindsight, the move has become a masterstroke as Piastri is fighting for race wins at the front with McLaren rising to become the Constructors’ champions last season.
Heading into the 2025 campaign, Webber’s management has scored another win for Piastri’s future by securing a multi-year contract extension for the 23-year-old. This new contract is reportedly keeping Piastri at McLaren till the end of 2028 at least and at an increased salary of $26 million.
