Mark Webber has signed a one-year contract extension with Red Bull Racing, the team have confirmed.
The deal comes after the strong start the Australian has made to the 2008 season, with Webber bringing his Renault-powered RB4 car home in the points at six of the eight races prior to this weekend’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
His best result came at the Monaco Grand Prix with a fourth-place finish.
The 31-year-old, who has previously raced for Minardi, Jaguar and Williams, will therefore stay with the Milton Keynes-based squad until the end of the 2009 season.
“I am very happy to have signed up for another year with Red Bull Racing so early in the season,” Webber said. “Continuing with Red Bull Racing for 2009 was a very easy decision for me to make.”
Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner added: “Earlier in the season both parties expressed a desire to continue working together and so it was a very quick and short discussion that led to an extension of our agreement.
“Mark has driven fantastically well this year. He has really demonstrated that he is a world-class driver and this year the team has been able to give him the tools to endorse that fact.”
The announcement came on the same afternoon that Webber’s team-mate David Coulthard confirmed he is to retire at the end of the current season after 15 years in Formula One.
The 37-year-old Scottish driver announced his decision in a statement released at Silverstone, where he is preparing for the British Grand Prix with the Red Bull team.
“I will remain actively involved in the sport as a consultant to Red Bull Racing, focusing on testing and development of the cars,” his statement read. “I have an open mind as to whether or not I will compete again in the future in some other form of motor sport, so I am definitely not hanging up my helmet.
“The decision to make this announcement at the British GP should be an obvious one, as I have achieved two of my 13 F1 victories at Silverstone and I am a member of the British Racing Drivers’ Club, which hosts this event.”
The Coulthard announcement should refuel the recurring rumor that Sebastian Vettel’s deal to move to Red Bull Racing in 2009 is now all but guaranteed.
Earlier a report from German magazine Auto Motor und Sport quoted team boss Christian Horner as saying switching Vettel, 20, from junior team Toro Rosso to the ‘A’ squad is a “possibility”. Horner added that Vettel is doing “a very good job” this season.
“We always try to have the best possible driver pairing,” Horner said.
He also ruled out suggestions that Vettel might tire of the Red Bull stable if he is not given the nod to move to the premier team in 2009.
“He would not be in the position (to do that),” Horner said. “He has a long term relationship with Red Bull.”
David Coulthard Fact File.
Technorati Tags: David Coulthard, Gerhard Berger, Mark Webber, Red Bull Racing, Christian Horner, Sebastian Vettel
Tags: Christian Horner, David Coulthard, Gerhard Berger, Mark Webber, Red Bull Racing, Sebastian Vettel
peterg wrote,
Red Bull need Mark, but he also needs to make himself available for offers, so a one year deal makes sense.
DC for the commentary gig a BBC next year?
Link | July 4th, 2008 at 8:04 am