Mark Webber Receives One-Year Extension To His Red Bull Contract

Following the announcement that Red Bull driver David Coulthard will retire at the end of the 2008 season, Mark Webber has said that his contract has been renewed and the Australian will continue racing with the Milton Keynes team until at least the end of 2009. Earlier in the day Webber had been quoted as saying that negotiations are ongoing and that he expected an answer in the next month. However, following today’s news it would appear that everything has come together for Mark and he will remain at Red Bull for a little while longer.

2009 will be Webber’s third year at Red Bull and while the team haven’t announced the second driver yet, many are expecting it to be Sebastian Vettel. It is interesting that the team have only given Mark one extra year, but in today’s climate and the appeal of running a younger driver who posseses talent but not the price-tag of an older star, it is perhaps only to be expected.

It was pretty easy. Coming here last year I settled in quickly… We have consistently performed. It’s an ambitious environment and we can be proud of our season so far. Mark Webber.

So far Mark has enjoyed a relatively consistent season with the RB4, scoring points in six of the eight races thus far. While Coulthard captured a podium in Canada, Mark leads his more experienced team mate with a total of 18 points to Coulthard’s 6.