Having begun his F1 career with Minardi, Webber, 36, went on to compete for
Jaguar and Red Bull over the following 12 years, twice finishing third in
the driver standings and standing on the podium 36 times.
Webber has seen his relationship with Vettel deteriorate over the five years
they have been team-mates. He was furious with Vettel after this year’s
Malaysian Grand Prix after the German ignored team orders and passed Webber
to win.
Although Vettel apologised he later said he would do the same again, leading
to Webber to repeat his claims that Vettel was favoured by Red Bull bosses.
The team had said he would be welcome to stay for 2014 but he has decided to
move his career in a different direction.
Webber, from Queanbeyan in New South Wales, has won nine F1 Grands Prix from
205 starts and set pole position 11 times.
Following the Malaysia race, Webber admitted he needed time to reflect on his
future.
He said at the time: “Right now it’s very early days, it’s very raw, but we
need to work out how the team best goes forwards from here.
“That’s obviously going to be discussed this week. I will be in Australia on
my surfboard, the phone won’t be engaged, so let’s see what happens.”
Although he decided not to quit the team or F1 immediately, Webber has
obviously given his future further thought.
Racing for Porsche next season will not be his Le Mans debut.
He raced for Mercedes in 1998 and 1999 but a mechanical problem ended his
debut early in the race.
Webber’s Mercedes flipped in 1999 because of an aerodynamic flaw, and despite
saying at the time he would not return to the French race, he has now
decided to take up Porsche’s offer.
(Edited by Giles Mole)