Mark Webber is the latest driver to join the Porsche LMP1 team for next year’s FIA WEC. The Australian driver, currently racing for Red Bull Racing in Formula 1, will join the already confirmed Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Neel Jani.
The 36-year-old Australian had been linked to Porsche for several months and it was already reported back in April that he had signed a multiple-year contract with the team. Porsche nor Webber were willing to confirm or deny the reports back then, but today the German manufacturer officially named Webber as part of their line-up for next year’s championship.
After twelve years in Formula 1, in which he won nine races and achieved 36 podium finishes, Webber returns to sports car racing. In 1998 and 1999 Webber was part of the Mercedes-AMG squad that raced in the FIA GT Championship and at Le Mans. As Mercedes ended their sports car program after the 1999 Le Mans 24 Hours Webber returned to open wheel racing in 2000.
“It’s an honour for me to join Porsche at its return to the top category in Le Mans and in the sports car World Endurance Championship and be part of the team. Porsche has written racing history as a manufacturer and stands for outstanding technology and performance at the highest level,” says Mark Webber on his return to sports car racing. “I’m very much looking forward to this new challenge after my time in Formula 1. Porsche will undoubtedly set itself very high goals. I can hardly wait to pilot one of the fastest sports cars in the world.”
“I’m very pleased to have secured Mark Webber for our LMP1 project as one of the best and most successful Formula 1 pilots of our time,” says Wolfgang Hatz, Board Member for Research and Development at Porsche AG. “Mark is without doubt one of the world’s best race drivers, he has experience at the Le Mans 24 hour race and on top of that he’s been a Porsche enthusiast for many years.”
“I learned to appreciate Mark’s qualities when we were both involved in Formula 1,” says Fritz Enzinger, Head of LMP1. “He is one of the best pilots I could imagine for our team. I’m absolutely delighted that we have such an experienced and fast regular driver onboard from 2014.”
