FAREWELL: Mark Webber drove out of Formula One as runner-up, equalling his best result of a year dominated by Brazilian Grand Prix winner and quadruple world champion teammate Sebastian Vettel. PHOTO: AFP
His boss, Red Bull team chief Christian Horner, said, "We spoke before the race and I said hopefully you'll be there on the last lap — and told him to enjoy it and take it all in. It was a great finish for him."
Not only did Webber enjoy it, he recorded the fastest lap of the race.
After 215 races, Webber departed with nine wins and a host of memories, but without the world title he may have merited and taken had he not been partnered at Red Bull by the exceptional four-time champion Sebastian Vettel.
"It is inevitable you are going to have adversity in your career and some decisions you should have made differently," admitted Webber.
"But you have to go with the flow and the decisions you make at the time."
In the Red Bull team's official news release, he said, "'I've been through a lot of emotional phases in my career.
"Maybe I did not have the most absolute natural flair and talent, but I knew that if I grafted and worked hard I'd get awesome results.
"The results I've had in Formula One have been great, but it's about the journey as well and I've had an amazing journey.”
Vettel becomes first driver to take nine successive wins
Vettel wrapped up the Formula One season on Sunday by winning the Brazilian Grand Prix and becoming the first driver to take nine successive victories in a single year.
The sport's youngest quadruple world champion, still only 26 years old, also matched fellow-German Michael Schumacher's 2004 record of 13 wins in a season.
"Guys, I am so proud of you,” said Vettel, his voice wavering over the team radio after he took the chequered flag for his 39th career win. “I love you. Remember this, enjoy this moment. Yes. We did it. This is unbelievable."
The only other Formula One driver to win nine in a row was Italian Alberto Ascari, but his were over two campaigns in 1952-53 at a time when there were not even nine races in a season.
"You can't really compare it," said Vettel. "In the fifties the races were much longer and there were a lot of things that were breaking down. I think his record still stands out a lot. So at the end of the day, as I see it now, it's just a number.
“But hopefully one day, when I've got less hair and chubby, then it's probably something nice to look back to."
Meanwhile, Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, this season's overall-runner-up, finished third on a day when the skies over Interlagos failed to deliver the rain that had forced delays to qualifying on Saturday.
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