“I virtually know everyone’s shoe size,” he said. “I know everyone’s names, I
know how everyone ticks and I know all the departments which is very, very
important for a driver. There’s a whole raft of factors.
“I’ve been hearing different rumours and reasons for a long time now. At
the end of the day I know everything that has been going on. You want to
make sure your focus is clearly on driving the car and the guys that you’re
working with. It’s important the team knows you’re 100 per cent with them,
which, of course, I am.”
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said there had been a “strong desire
from both sides” to continue the partnership.
With Webber’s contract situation now clear, attention will turn to what impact
that has on the rest of the grid.
One thing it certainly does is reduce Lewis Hamilton’s bargaining power with
McLaren.
The 27 year-old is out of contract at the end of the year and, while both he
and the Woking team have expressed a desire to renew – and that remains the
most likely option – the contract remains unsigned.
Hamilton’s manager, Simon Fuller, is in London this summer to try to thrash
out a new deal.
Red Bull was a useful bargaining chip while Webber’s future remained
uncertain, but that avenue is now closed.
There may still be seats available at Ferrari and Mercedes should Felipe Massa
and Michael Schumacher vacate them; both are out of contract at the end of
the year.
The former would mean a sensational reunion with former McLaren team mate
Fernando Alonso, although it remains hugely unlikely given the way the
Spaniard has built the team around him at Maranello. Ferrari say they are in “no
rush” to make a decision on 2013.
The latter is far more plausible, particularly given Mercedes’s relationship
with Hamilton, but the Brackley-based team are not yet consistently fighting
for race wins.
The sensible money remains on Hamilton renewing with McLaren whose team
principal Martin Whitmarsh claimed following the British Grand Prix, where
Hamilton finished eighth and team mate Jenson Button 10th, that the team’s
current on-track struggles would not affect discussions.
“I think he is smarter than that,” Whitmarsh said. “He knows that racing
is highs and lows.”