Mark Webber’s Formula 1 career to date has been a story of unfulfilled promise.

He has spent many years dragging middling cars into unlikely positions, and misfortune has often intervened when he appeared to be on the brink of a breakthrough.

Hence his tally of just two podiums from 121 races.

It was typical of Webber’s infamous poor luck that a cycling accident during his winter charity event left him with a broken leg, just as his Red Bull team was perfecting the car that many expect to be the sensation of the 2009 season.

The tough Aussie was fit enough to drive again by the time the RB5 made its testing debut, but the injury was an inconvenience he didn’t need – especially with man of the moment Sebastian Vettel arriving as his new team-mate.


Career log

Webber made a remarkable F1 debut, benefiting from some first corner mayhem to score an emotional fifth place on his and Minardi team owner Paul Stoddart’s home turf in Australia in 2002.

Stoddart and Webber were even allowed to celebrate their giant-killing success on the podium after the official presentation.

His continued heroics for Minardi earned Webber a move to the troubled but better-funded Jaguar team for 2003.

Ford’s factory team was facing an uncertain future when Webber arrived but his determination and talent gave the beleaguered staff a reason to keep pushing.

Having proved his skill in adversity at Minardi and Jaguar, Webber was ready to become a regular winner when he then joined Williams.

It was billed as a perfect partnership between a hard-charging, no-nonsense Aussie and a squad that had always prized such traits.

However, the 2005 Williams team was a far cry from the dominant operation of its glory days and the relationship ended after two years of frustration.

Webber had ignored the advice of his manager Flavio Briatore and turned down the chance of a Renault drive to join Williams – and then had to watch from the midfield as Renault swept to a pair of titles.

The few potential bright spots, such as a near-certain home podium in 2006 and a shot at Monaco victory later in the year, were lost to unreliability.

Webber sought a brighter future with Red Bull, although his first two seasons with the still-growing squad delivered few highlights.

Ironically his best opportunity for victory was lost when future team-mate Vettel ploughed into him behind the safety car in the sodden 2007 Fuji race – just as Webber was poised to challenge Lewis Hamilton for the race lead.


The early years

Webber had to overcome plenty of adversity to reach F1.

With only a minimal budget behind him, Webber won the prestigious Formula Ford Festival in 1996 then impressed in British Formula 3.

Mercedes spotted his potential and signed Webber for its sportscar programme.

This proved to be a chequered period for the Australian – as Webber and team favourite Bernd Schneider lost the 1998 FIA GT title at the last gasp.

The following year an aerodynamic problem sent Webber into two terrifying aerial accidents during practice for the Le Mans 24 Hours.

He then returned to single-seaters and bounced back via two successful seasons in Formula 3000 and F1 testing duties for Arrows and Benetton, before getting his F1 break with his former F3000 team boss Stoddart.