Red Bull Racing (2007–2013)
Webber did not re-sign with Williams after he was offered less money for a two-year contract. Webber became disillusioned with F1 because their press relations would not let competitors speak freely to the press. Briatore directed Webber to the Red Bull Racing team; they became interested in the team after they purchased Jaguar in late 2004 and signed world championship-winning technical director Adrian Newey to design the RB3-Renault car. His switch from Williams to Red Bull was confirmed in August 2006, replacing Klien and partnering the experienced David Coulthard. His move to Red Bull had been surprising as it was formed to promote young drivers and the drinks company.
Before the season, Webber enquired about Red Bull adviser and junior formula team owner Helmut Marko for his treatment of young drivers and was told by team principal Christian Horner to obey Marko to avoid conflict. The RB3 proved to be a quick but unreliable car, causing Webber to retire seven times during the season. He scored his first points of 2007 when he finished seventh in the United States and took his second career podium finish with a third-place finish at the European Grand Prix three races later. Webber scored once more that year with another seventh place at the Belgian Grand Prix. He was on course to finish well at the rain-affected Japanese Grand Prix until Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel crashed into the rear of his car behind the safety car, eliminating both drivers from the race. Webber tallied ten points for 12th overall and beat his teammate Coulthard 15 times in qualifying.
Webber remained at Red Bull for the 2008 season and was again joined by Coulthard, driving a more reliable RB4 car equipped with a new reliable gearbox and a heavier front. Webber frequently qualified well and scored points at nine of the season's 18 rounds. He occasionally outperformed drivers with better machinery and he scored points in six of the first eight races, which included a season-high fourth at the Monaco Grand Prix. He qualified a season-high second for the British Grand Prix but finished tenth in the wet-weather race. Thereafter, Webber's performance for the remainder of the season diminished mainly because Red Bull opted to sacrifice speed so it could focus on constructing a new car to comply with the regulation changes being applied for the 2009 championship. He scored points three more times in the final nine races for 21 points and 11th in the Drivers' Championship.
Because of Red Bull's performance, Webber remained at the team for 2009.
Webber sustained multiple injuries in a head-on collision with a car at a charity endurance cycling event in Port Arthur, Tasmania in November 2008, including a fractured right leg. He skipped a three-day pre-season test session held at the Jerez circuit, but was able to regain enough fitness to drive in an F1 car at the 2009 pre-season test sessions at Jerez and Barcelona, due to the late launch of the RB5 car. Webber underwent surgery between events to avoid contracting infections.
Vettel, who was promoted from Toro Rosso to replace the retiring Coulthard, became Webber's teammate. Webber consistently scored points in seven of the first eight races, including three podium finishes to briefly become a championship contender. His performances improved when the new RB5 car's double diffuser was introduced. At the German Grand Prix, Webber overcame a drive-through penalty he incurred for a first-lap collision with Rubens Barrichello's Brawn GP car to achieve his first career victory (the first win of an Australian driver since the 1981 Caesars Palace Grand Prix with Alan Jones) from his maiden pole position. Webber was informed by Red Bull that he and Vettel could race each other "for the foreseeable future" even when trying to reduce Button's points lead. He moved to second overall after finishing third in Hungary but fell to fourth due to driver, team and reliability errors in the next four races. At the season's penultimate round, the Brazilian Grand Prix, Webber took his second career victory and held off Button to finish second at the season's final race in Abu Dhabi for fourth overall and 69.5 points.
Webber and Red Bull negotiated a contract extension to the 2010 championship to reward his performance in 2009. His RB6 car was designed to channel engine exhaust gases through a bodywork slot to the diffuser's central area for more downforce and cornering speed. A knee injury sustained while biking forced Webber to delay his preparation because a surgeon conducted a full knee incision. Inactivity during surgery increased Webber's weight to 80 kg (180 lb); a strict diet kept his weight at 75 kg (165 lb). Upon his return to racing, he led the Drivers' Championship at various points during the season, achieving four Grand Prix victories and three pole positions. An accident with Rosberg at the Korean Grand Prix and a second-place finish at the following Brazilian Grand Prix put Webber eight points behind Alonso and seven ahead of Vettel entering the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Webber needed to win the race and for Alonso to place third or lower to secure the championship. He was eighth in the race, which Vettel won and Alonso came seventh. Webber was third overall with 242 points. After the season, Webber was angry with Red Bull's management, thinking they devalued his achievements that year. He collided with Vettel in a duel for the lead at the Turkish Grand Prix, which cooled his relationship with Marko who blamed Webber for the accident and favoured Vettel, something Webber felt again after Vettel received a new front wing intended for Webber at the British Grand Prix.
Webber signed a Red Bull contract extension for the 2011 season before the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix, having agreed with the team to sign one-year contracts late in his career for ability and quality assessment. Webber's mental state worsened because he was ready to retire after a title win to stop all negativity related to his racing career. His RB7 car equipped with the kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) and drag reduction system devices and an exhaust-blown diffuser produced lots of rear grip. Webber was hindered by intermittent KERS failures that Red Bull rectified and he was frustrated with the quickly degrading Pirelli tyres losing their performance when a driver was in the aerodynamic turbulence of another car. He made slower starts due to the car's ballast distribution compromised by the KERS' additional weight exacerbated by him weighing 11 kg (24 lb) more than Vettel.
Dietrich Mateschitz, Red Bull's owner, directed the team to allow both Webber and Vettel to race each other. Webber came no lower than fifth in the first four races, finishing third and second in China and Turkey. He finished the Spanish Grand Prix fourth from pole position. Webber took consecutive pole positions at the British and German Grands Prix and seven podiums from eleven top-tens in the next 13 events. He won the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix to take third overall from Alonso with a career-high 258 points. Webber initially struggled with the new Pirelli tyres, producing a greater amount of lateral load than his teammate Vettel and was more aggressive accelerating. His qualifying and race performances improved once he became better acquainted with the tyres. Webber made fewer pit stops by copying strategies used by other drivers after previously stopping more often from racing competitively.
Webber signed to remained at Red Bull for the 2012 season on the day of the Hungarian Grand Prix. Webber's decision to re-sign was made more difficult in mid-2011 because of his poor qualifying performance on Pirelli tyres but noted the potential of Newey's car designs. The RB8 car was not as dominant as its two predecessors; Webber finished fourth in the first four races, hampered by minor mechanical problems and faulty KERS. He became frustrated with F1 racing after a poor performance at the Spanish Grand Prix but he won the Monaco Grand Prix from pole position and the British Grand Prix three races later after passing Alonso with eight laps left to go second overall behind Alonso. Webber took two more podium finishes in Korea and India during the season's final 11 races, finishing 2012 sixth overall tallying 179 points.
Webber remained at Red Bull for the 2013 championship: he wanted to honour an earlier promise he had made to Horner and Mateschitz to stay at the team until his F1 career was over. He rejected an offer from Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali to partner Alonso and replace Felipe Massa for a year with a second optional, feeling switching teams would be inappropriate. He briefly lightened his training over the pre-season period when a titanium rod in his right leg was removed in December 2012. After restarting training that month, Webber decided to retire from F1 after 2013 because he wanted to spend more time with his family, demotivation with F1 since drivers could not criticise Pirelli's tyres for fear of possibly upsetting others and the politics when large sums of money were involved. Webber was assigned Simon Rennie as his race engineer when his previous engineer, Ciaron Pilbeam, became the Lotus team's chief race engineer.
Webber's RB9 car initially struggled possibly due to its aerodynamic profile on the new softer Pirelli compounds but performed better when the 2012 compounds were re-introduced mid-season. At the Malaysian Grand Prix, the season's second round, Webber was overtaken by Vettel in the closing laps to win the race after Vettel ignored the team order "Multi-Map 21", which instructed him to finish behind Webber. Tension between both drivers rose as a result and a remark by Webber about Vettel making an independent decision to disobey team orders meant Vettel lost Webber's respect as a person. After that, Webber was aware that the rest of the season would be onerous and tension between him and Vettel would stress Red Bull. He took eight podium finishes, finishing second four more times at the British Grand Prix, the Japanese Grand Prix, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from pole position and the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix. Webber won no races in 2013 and he concluded his final F1 season in third overall with 199 points.
