10 Reasons Why Mark Webber Is One Of The Coolest Drivers In Motorsport

1. He is brutally honest

Webber is known for being brutally honest and always speaking his mind – a rarity in the world of F1 and motorsport, where drivers first have to make their PR departments happy.

Quotes such as “the guys have confirmed that it was the first-lap nutcase again Grosjean, it’s quite embarrassing at this level for him”, “the track is like a Tesco car park" and his sarcastic “not bad for a number two driver, cheers” are just a few of the gems.

2. Rule breaker

The Australian isn’t afraid to break the rules every once and a while, such as when he took his helmet off on the cool down lap after his final F1 race at the 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix. Maybe he just wanted to dry his hair before the podium?

Webber was always one of F1’s bravest drivers and he wasn’t afraid to take risks, as proved by his amazing overtake on Fernando Alonso at Eau Rouge in 2011. It takes big balls to complete a pass at one of the sport’s quickest corners.

4. He seems happier than ever in sportscars

We were sad to see Webber leave F1 at the end of 2013, but he remains a big name in motorsport and currently races in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Porsche. His car finished second at Le Mans earlier in 2015 and will be hoping for a good result this weekend at the Nurburgring, which will be the perfect way to conclude his birthday celebrations

5. Great sense of humour

He is a pretty funny guy and has a great sense of humour, which is part of the reason why he is so popular in motorsport. Whatever racing series he is competing in, he brings plenty of personality. And that’s pretty rare.

Few F1 drivers would agree to sing in a TV advert, especially one about milk. But Mark doesn’t take himself too seriously and is often up for a laugh.

He was caught at the 2013 Belgian Grand Prix checking out Jenson Button’s girlfriend as he cycled the track, and posted an epic tweet about it. Brilliant.

Webber is one of those drivers who is super easy to chat to and makes interviews interesting and funny (something that can’t be said for quite a few racing drivers). He always has time for his fans and also gives a lot back through charity work and his Mark Webber Foundation. What a top bloke.

Webber definitely didn’t have an easy route to F1 – at one point he was almost forced to quit due to lack of financial backing. He spent several years in test roles before being promoted to F1 in 2002 with Minardi. He then spent stints in midfield teams but finally hit the front in 2009 with Red Bull.

Another example of his fighting attitude was when he suffered food poisoning at the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix but started the race. He vomited in his helmet during the first Safety Car period but continued on, only to be hit by rookie Sebastian Vettel (ironic, considering their history) while running second.

10. And finally, a pretty fast driver

You don’t win nine races in F1 and race for front-running sportscar teams like Porsche without being a damn good driver. Webber has suffered his fair share of bad luck during his career and should have had more success, but he still continues to prove his talent behind the wheel and will hopefully remain in the FIA WEC for many years to come.

Happy birthday, Mark!