Mark Webber’s decision to call time on his Formula One career is of no great surprise, but boy, will he be sorely missed.
Webber has stated on many occasions that come the day he no longer enjoyed the sport then that would be his time to bow out.
You sense, pretty much since what transpired in Malaysia at the end of March, that the 36-year-old Australian has had enough.
That is not even taking into consideration the hurtful events of the race itself, which we will come to in a moment.
But even in the lead up to the grand prix at the Sepang International Circuit Webber voiced his frustration with regard to a topic that has dominated this particular season.
Webber had just stepped from his Red Bull following practice and the first question zeroed in on the Pirelli rubber.
“The whole category is geared around tyres at the moment. Everything is around tyres. Tyres, tyres, tyre, tyres, tyres…”
And with that he promptly walked away, leaving a number of puzzled inquisitors staring in his direction.
Webber has since explained the sport has lost some of its soul, that a driver can no longer push to the limits of himself and the car due to the high level of tyre management these days.
At that stage the rot was setting in….and then we had the race.
By right, and by command of the Red Bull hierarchy, the win should have been his as he emerged from the final pit stop ahead of team-mate Sebastian Vettel.
“Multi 21” was the instruction from the pit wall, code for car two (Webber) to remain ahead of car one (Vettel) for the remainder of the race.
Vettel, however, had other ideas and with blatant disregard for his team and Webber selfishly chose to attack and ultimately claim the win.
The two men have never been friends, putting it politely, but on that steamy hot day in Malaysia what transpired may now be viewed as the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Webber claims the events have had no bearing on his decision to walk away from F1, stating: “I’ve had a personal plan and I’ve stuck to it.”
Without doubt, though, Malaysia would have categorically reaffirmed in his mind that what he was doing was absolutely the right thing.
At the very next race in China, just three weeks later, the ‘Webber to Porsche’ rumours began to surface, and with some credibility.
Webber denied them at first, as was to be expected, but just 11 weeks later the truth is now out as he is to join Porsche’s assault on the World Endurance Championship and Le Mans in the LMP1 category from next season.
His decision brings the curtain down on an F1 career that began with backmarkers Minardi in 2002, moving on to Jaguar, Williams and then Red Bull in 2007.
With 203 GP starts going into this weekend’s race at Silverstone, where he has claimed two of his nine victories, Webber will hopefully look back with no regrets.
Arguably, he should have won the world title in 2010, only to lose out to Vettel in the final grand prix in Abu Dhabi, following which he appeared shattered.
It could also be argued Webber has not been the same man since, showing only flashes of brilliance, with Vettel going on to claim a hat-trick of titles, potentially even four in a row this year given his early current lead in the standings.
Webber suggests “the timing is perfect” for his departure, and that “time doesn’t stand still for anyone and it’s time to move on to my next challenge”.
As a racer, a man who has given his all no matter the circumstances, Webber has been second to none.
As a character, a personality in F1, Webber’s exit creates a hole as he is renowned for his candour and his forthright views.
There is no other driver in the sport these days like Webber, and to that end his departure will be felt quite significantly.