Mark Webber has two chances left to win a final race.
After almost 220 Grand Prix and nine wins, Mark Webber is searching for that final victory to end his stellar career in.
And as Webber would say “not bad for a number two driver.”
There was a time Mark Webber looked like he was never going to get there.
In 2006 when whilst driving for Williams, he finished just 7 of 18 races. That is less than a 40% finishing record.
How times and engineering have changed. Now he is driving for the top team and has a change to bow out with a victory.
They have won four constructors titles in a row. He has a good record in end of season races.
He has won at Brazil before, in 2011, which was his only victory for the season.
This was after another strong year from his team mate, Sebastian Vettel.
Webber could have been the Formula 1 world champion. There was only one small problem: Vettel.
Webber had the best car in the world for over four seasons, but has not yet been able to capitalise, due to the dominance of Sebastian Vettel.
Only two Australians have been Formula 1 world champions. Sir Jack Brabham who three world titles in 1959, 1960 and 1966.
He had some series completion in those years; Bruce Mclaren, Sir Stirling Moss and Phil Hill. The other is Alan Jones who won in 1980 after a pretty dominant season. He raced against the likes of Nelson Piquet and Keke Rosberg.
That’s not to say Webber got off easy.
Names that Webber faced included Vettel, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen and seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher.
Mark Webber has had a great career to date.
215 races, 40 podiums, nine wins and over 1000 career points.
Despite not winning a championship, he has been relatively successful.
One thing Webber has over the other drivers is that he is well loved by most fans.
Vettel was criticised for not obeying team orders earlier on in the season. The fans rallied behind Webber and booed Vettel. Maybe he is being booed because he keeps winning?
His constant dominance is starting to annoy fans and I believe the fans of Formula 1 just want something different.
Webber’s best shot at the title came in 2010. But Vitaly Petrov’s eagerness to stick around in F1 and block Webber and Alonso handed Sebastian his first title.
With Webber ending his career in Brazil later this year, another Australian Daniel Ricciardo is now the next hope for Australia. It has been a while since Australia had a genuinely talented young driver in a great car.
Ricciardo is now a real chance at winning a title in the next few seasons. Ricciardo will have a year to learn from Vettel, then he will be expected to challenge for the title.
If Vettel goes to Ferrari in 2015 or 2016, giving Ricciardo a chance to bring home an Australian world championship.
I would like to thank Mark Webber and I hope he can claim a 24 hours of Le Mans victory.
He remains one of the great Australian sportsmen.
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