Mark Webber finally achieved a career-long goal of finishing on the podium at Monza in his last grand prix at the Italian circuit before he retires at the end of the season.
The Australian driver first raced at Monza in 2002 for Minardi, and in his eleven previous appearances at the circuit he had only recorded a best finish of sixth back in 2010. However, Webber produced a good performance to finish third in today’s race, and he may have passed second placed Fernando Alonso late on had it not been for a gearbox issue that forced him to short-shift.
“It’s a great place here and it’s very special to finish on the podium,” Webber explained after the race. “It’s not the circuit where I’ve had the best results in the past, so it’s a bit of a personal best for me in qualifying and the race.
“We had to nurse the gearbox a bit at the end, but overall it was a good result. Seb is very strong around here and it was great to get such a good result today.”
After qualifying second on the grid, Webber made a poor start and dropped to fourth behind Alonso and Felipe Massa, before eventually passing Massa in the stops thanks to some great work from the Red Bull pit crew that allowed both Webber and Sebastian Vettel to stop on the same lap.
The result sees Red Bull extend their lead in the constructors’ championship to 104 points over closest challengers Ferrari.
