Mark Webber has finished his final grand prix in the United States with a podium finish after coming third in today’s race at the Circuit of the Americas ahead of his last outing in Brazil next weekend.
The Australian driver narrowly missed out on pole position yesterday, and he made a poor getaway off the line to drop behind Lotus’ fast-starting Romain Grosjean and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton at the beginning of the race. Webber soon caught and passed Hamilton ahead of the first round of stops to move up into third place before coming into the pits.
When Webber did stop, his team produced a world-record stop that saw his team change all four tires in just 1.95 seconds, allowing him to cut the gap to Grosjean in the race for second place. Despite trying and trying, Webber pushed too hard in pursuit of the Frenchman meaning that his tires soon lost grip and he could not catch the Frenchman in the final stages of the race, eventually crossing the line 2.1 seconds behind Grosjean.
The Australian driver has one final chance to win the tenth race of his career next weekend in Brazil in what will be the final grand prix of his career. However, he promised fans on the podium that he would be returning to the Circuit of the Americas next season with Porsche for the US round of the World Endurance Championship as he begins a new life in sportscars.
