Webber must split with Williams

Thomas George tries to make sense of Mark Webber’s loyalty to the struggling Williams racing team.

When Mark Webber first made the jump to the Formula One realm with the now non-existent Minardi team, I couldn’t be happier. An Australian in the F1’s was in itself something to be excited about.

In his first ever race in 2002, Webber claimed a miraculous fifth position at the Albert Park track, and although his success could be attributed to more than half of the field retiring during the race, many saw promise in the young man from NSW.

Webber soon earned respect as a hard-nosed driver, and gathered a reputation for pushing his car to the limit, producing results that seemed to be above his car’s capacities.

After moving from Minardi to Jaguar, and then to Williams, the expectations on Webber grew. At first with Minardi just finishing a race was an accomplishment, but when Webber joined the Jaguar racing team alongside Christian Klien, the two drivers – often labeled as reckless for their aggressive driving styles, surprisingly managed to finish in the points in a number of races.

So logically in 2004 when Webber was approached to join Williams, a historically successful and accomplished racing team, many had podium finishes and race wins in their minds.

Unfortunately this has not been the case.

Aside from a lone podium finish (third place) in Monaco last season, Webber’s time at Williams has been plagued with problems, with significant reliability and performance issues making it impossible for Mark and the team to compete with the major teams.

Now, just trying to see the checkered flag at the end of the race seems like an accomplishment for a team that should be achieving much more, and a driver that deserves better.

Which is why it is hard to understand after watching Webber come within eight laps of finishing the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim (due to a water leak) only last weekend, that he is considering taking less money to re-sign with the struggling Williams team, as the deadline for a 2007 option approaches in his contract.

Re-signing with a struggling Williams team, which Webber says “can’t be any worse next year”, is a high-risk gamble for a Formula One driver coming to a crossroads in his racing career.

Especially considering that there is potential interest in Webber coming from constructor Renault, as they look to replace their world champion driver Fernando Alonso who is set to move to McLaren next season.

Renault, whom are also said to be interested in current McLaren driver Kimi Raikonnen for the spot, is head and shoulders above Williams in terms of car performance and reliability, and would surely see Webber in better stead than Williams.

Coincidentally, Renault’s team manager Flavio Briatore is also Mark Webber’s personal manager, and with signs pointing to Raikkonen signing with Ferrari next season, Renault could (and would) be the ideal place for Webber to end up.

Webber’s faith and loyalty in Williams has been admirable, however for the sake of his career, if he wants to achieve true success in the sport in the conceivable future, he and Williams must part ways.

And if there was a spot at Renault with his name on it, he would be crazy not to take it.

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