Mark Webber was a decent Formula One driver who competed in his twilight years for Red Bull Racing with Sebastian Vettel as his team mate. Yet in a car which won four consecutive constructor and drivers’ championships he claimed just nine Grand Prix victories, whilst his team mate racked up 38 wins.
In 2010 following the Singapore Grand Prix, the Australian driver led the drivers title race by 11 points from Fernando Alonso with Vettel a further 9 points behind.
Come the season finale in Abu Dhabi, Sebastian remained in third place behind team mate Webber and Fernando Alonso who was 15 points ahead of the German. The race was a frustrating affair for the Spaniard, who qualified third, but after a chaotic start found himself stuck behind the Renault of Vitaly Petrov down in eight place, while Vettel was leading.
The Vettel/Webber team mate nightmare
In a stunning turnaround, Vettel won the Grand Prix, while his team mate cold only manage eight place, one behind Alonso meaning the German took his maiden F1 title by just four points from Alonso, with webber trailing home in third place.
And that was about as good as it got for Mark Webber, who over the next three seasons was to endure his team mates dominance along with political shenanigans inside the team. Just as McLaren claim currently, Christian Horner stated repeatedly he had no number one driver, but actions spoke louder than words as evidence at the 2010 British Grand Prix.
Sebastian Vettel broke his newly upgraded front wing in practice. Red Bull had not been able to produce any spares. Christian Horner sanctioned the removal of Webber’s front wing upgrade to give it to Vettel. Mark went on to win the race and coined the phrase, “not bad for a number two driver.”
Then there was the infamous team orders at the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix where after the final round of pit stops Mark Webber held the lead from his team mate. Sebastian was instructed to hold station to the chequered flag, both drivers were instructed to lower their engine modes and conserve tyres to ensure a 1-2 for the team.
Vettel “the black sheep”
Yet Sebastian had other ideas and on lap 46 turned up his power unit to attack his team mate for the lead. The duel was hotly contested through several corners, but it was Vettel who prevailed whilst Christian Horner tried in vain to enforce the team order stating over ten radio, “Come on Seb, this is silly.”
Webber was determined to boycott the podium ceremony, until persuaded otherwise and in the drivers’ cool down room things were heated. Sebastian described himself as “the black sheep” in the post race media event, whilst Webber revealed during the last fifteen laps he “was thinking that many things, yes. Many many things.”
That season, Sebastian claimed the fourth his his F1 driver championships and Mark Webber declared his intention to retire. Almost a decade later Webber reflected on his five seasons together with Sebastian at Red Bull which he described as permanently “tense.”
“It always gets a bit strained – it’s easier to be team mates when you’re fighting for points but obviously, championships and wins is a bit more challenging, which is obviously well-advertised in lots of different scenarios throughout the sport,” said the Australian.
Hamilton plays the race card again
Webber’s management of Piastri questioned
Now Mark Webber is piloting his prodigy countryman, Oscar Piastri towards what just six race weekends ago seemed certain victory in the championship. Yet the wheels have come off Piastri’s challenge as he lost a 34 point lead to his team mate and now faces a 24 point deficit to Norris.
Paddock whispers suggest Mark Webber has not handled Piastri’s fall from grace particularly well. Memories of his past where the Red Bull team boss claimed the drivers were equal but were not are said to haunt the Australian and with McLaren stating weekly, their drivers are “free to race” he has been scrutinising what goes on behind the scenes.
BBC journalists Jennie Gow and Andrew Benson discussed the matter on the Chequered Flag podcast. “It has been suggested to me that because Mark Webber never got to be a world champion and lost out and had to almost cede to Sebastian Vettel, that he doesn’t have the final piece of the jigsaw puzzle,” said Gow.
“Like he doesn’t have that knowledge, but I don’t believe that to be the case.” Benson countered that the reason McLaren have gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure “fairness” between the drivers may be down to Webber’s experience. “It’s completely different. No transparency in the way they were dealing with things [for Webber]. Saying one thing publicly, acting a different way privately, completely different from McLaren, absolute transparency with the media and internally between the team bosses and the drivers,” said Benson.
Piastri’s Achiles Heel
There have been suggestions that Piastri’s recent spiral reflects the experience of his manager, Webber, yet when battling with Vettel, the Australian was an experienced driver heading towards the twilight of his career. Piastri by way of comparison is huge inexperienced and still learning his trade.
And it is simply that which is making the different between Norris and Piastri as Andrea Stella explained in Mexico. “The fastest car is a car that needs to be driven in a certain way, especially when you have conditions like here, and to some extent in Austin, with hot Tarmac, sliding tyres,” said Stella.
“And the way in which you generate lap time is a way that comes relatively naturally for Lando, and less naturally for Oscar. Lando is the driver of going on low grip, end of the stint when the tyres are quite worn, the grip is low – it’s where we see Lando go green sector, green sector, green sector. Oscar, instead, is more of a driver of high grip. That’s where he can exploit this incredible talent.”
Hamilton at war with FIA stewards
Webber’s driving style issues
Brazil too, due to the cool temperatures became a low grip experience for the drivers despite much of the circuit having been recently resurfaced.
Interestingly, Mark Webber too suffered with a driving style which hampered his ability to exploit the full potential of his Red Bull F1 cars. In an era where “off throttle exhaust blowing” was used to push air through the diffuser to create downforce. Vettel mastered a counter intuitive driving style to exploit this to the limit.
Next up is Las Vegas and the drivers are set for night time racing approaching winter in the desert. The ambient temperatures will be low single digit numbers the cars take to the track at 22:00. Grip will be low and it could be the final nail in Oscar Piastri’s coffin, but there is a chance Mercedes and Red Bull will dominate minimising his potential loss to Lando Norris.
Piastri penalty shows FIA guidelines have failed
Oscar Piastri’s run of poor form continued at the 2025 Sau Palo Grand Prix where a mistake in the Sprint saw him befriend the barriers at turn three early in the race.
Come qualifying the Australian could only manage a distant fourth to his team mate who claimed pole. He started the race behind Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc and was fortunate in the turn one melee not to find himself tangled up with Antonelli on the run down to turn two.
Following an early safety car caused by Brazilian Gabriel Bortoletto, at the restart Kimi Antonelli in second place was a little right foot heavy and suffered a small amount of wheel spin, allowing Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri to challenge him into turn one…. READ MORE
A.J. Hunt is Senior Editor at TJ13, where Andrew oversees editorial standards and contributes to the site’s Formula 1 coverage. A career journalist with experience in both print and digital sports media, Andrew trained in investigative journalism and has written for a range of European sports outlets.
At TJ13, Andrew plays a central role in shaping the site’s output, working across breaking news, analysis, and long-form features. Andrew’s responsibilities include fact-checking, refining editorial structure, and ensuring consistency in reporting across a fast-moving news cycle.
Andrew’s work focuses particularly on the intersection of Formula 1 politics, regulation, and team strategy. Andrew closely follows developments involving the FIA, team leadership, and driver market dynamics, helping to provide context behind the sport’s biggest stories.
With experience covering multiple seasons of Formula 1’s modern hybrid era, Andrew has developed a detailed understanding of how regulatory changes and competitive shifts influence the grid. Andrew’s editorial approach prioritises clarity and context, aiming to help readers navigate complex developments within the sport.
In addition to editorial duties, Andrew is particularly interested in how media narratives shape fan perception of Formula 1, and how reporting can balance speed with accuracy in an increasingly digital news environment.
