Allan McNish has no doubt Mark Webber will make a significant impact when he embarks on his new adventure of sportscar racing next year.

Webber is quitting Formula One at the end of this season, bringing the curtain down on a 12-year involvement with the sport.

From 2014, the 36-year-old Australian will be going up against McNish in the LMP1 category of the World Endurance Championship, which now includes Le Mans, after signing a multi-year deal with Porsche.

Audi driver McNish, who won his third Le Mans crown last weekend, was not surprised by Webber’s announcement.

“Knowing Mark since the mid-90s, and also speaking to him quite a lot at the races last year, his interest in the current state of play of sportscar racing was getting higher,” said McNish, speaking to Press Association Sport.

“You could read into it quite easily that he was starting to look at it as an option.

“Him coming back is a good thing for the sport. It’s another high-profile driver in the championship.

“It’s also the right time for him as he has made his mark in F1, he’s probably not going to challenge for this year’s title, and when your team-mate (Sebastian Vettel) also gets stronger then it gets tougher.

“With Porsche coming back, and doing so with a very clear objective – to win Le Mans – and with Toyota and Audi there, the competition is going to be very high across the board.

“In terms of what he will bring to the sport – he’ll be aggressive, fast, which is what you want.

“The cars we have now, with the aerodynamics, the tyres, it won’t be a difficult switch.

“All in all I can’t see any negatives because as a driver he is safe. You can drive wheel to wheel with him, he’ll give you an inch, but no more than that.”

Although there have been a number of former F1 drivers who have made the switch to sportscars, and LMP1 in particular, Webber is arguably the most well-known.