Former Red Bull and Williams Formula 1 driver and reigning World Endurance champion Mark Webber will retire from professional motorsport at the end of his current Porsche LMP1 campaign.
The Australian’s last race will be the 2016 WEC finale at Bahrain on November 19, and he will stay on with Porsche as a “special representative”.
GALLERY: Mark Webber’s career in pictures
Webber got his F1 break in 2002 with Minardi, scoring points on debut on home soil, and raced with Jaguar and Williams before joining Red Bull in ’07.
It was with Red Bull that he enjoyed his most-successful stint in grand prix racing, taking nine victories and finishing third in the world championship on three occasions before leaving at the end of the 2013 season.
Since joining Porsche’s then-new LMP1 programme in 2014, Webber has won seven WEC rounds with Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley, and the trio won last year’s drivers’ title, along with finishing second in the Le Mans 24 Hours.
“I have arrived where I belong,” Webber said.
“Porsche is the brand I always loved most and the one that suits me the best.
“I will miss the sheer speed, downforce and competition, but I want to leave on a high and I’m very much looking forward to my new tasks.
“It was a big change from Formula 1 to LMP1 and an entirely new experience. But it came at the right time for me.
“I found I liked sharing a car and the chemistry between Timo, Brendon and me is special and something I’ll always remember.
“It will be strange getting into the race car for the very last time in Bahrain but for now I will thoroughly enjoy every moment of the remaining races.”
Webber, Bernhard and Hartley are fourth in the WEC standings entering this weekend’s Fuji race, the third-last of the season.
