Australian former Formula 1 star Mark Webber has been inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.
 
One of nine Australian sporting icons to be inducted, Webber was unanimously voted in by the Hall of Fame’s panel for his many years at the top level of international motorsport.
 
The Sport Australia Hall of Fame considers many factors when selecting athletes for the prestigious club, with each inductee having excelled in their chosen sport and done so with dignity, integrity, courage, modesty, pride and ambition.
 
Spending more than a decade at the pinnacle of international motor racing, the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, Webber claimed a total of nine wins throughout his 215 starts, 33 further podiums and 13 pole positions.
 
Having raced with a number of teams throughout his 12-season stint in Formula 1, the New South Welshman spent a large portion of his career with Red Bull Racing, where he came third on the outright standings on three occasions.
 
Debuting in 2002 for KL Minardi Asiatech, Webber’s first race proved quite successful with a P5 at the Australian Grand Prix – remarkably his debut performance would be his best result for the next three seasons.
 
Making the move to BMW Williams at the end of 2004, it didn’t take Webber long to pick up his first F1 podium for his new team - a third place on the biggest stage of all, the Monaco Grand Prix.
 
Again, it would be another lengthy wait before he got his next podium, which came with his new team Red Bull in 2007.
 
Webber reached a new level in 2009 with his first two Formula 1 wins in Germany and Brazil and another four podiums, ending the season in fourth place.
 
Arguably his best season in F1 came in the following year, where he claimed four wins and a further six podiums, yet fell just short of a World Championship by 14 points.
 
In 2011, he claimed just one win, however his consistency saw him finish third again after picking up a further nine podiums and finishing all but one race in the top five.
 
Webber had just two more seasons in Formula 1 and during that time, he picked up a further two wins and 10 podiums before leaving the Championship with another third place at the end of 2013.
 
The Australian then joined the Porsche Factory Team to contest the highly acclaimed FIA World Endurance Championship alongside German Timo Bernhard and New Zealander Brendon Hartley, a move that would bring Webber more success over the next three years.
 
Three podiums in 2014 marked a solid start for the trio, however their big moment came in 2015 when they won the FIA World Endurance Championship title courtesy of four consecutive victories and a further two podiums.
 
Since his retirement in 2016, Webber remains a Porsche Ambassador and Red Bull Athlete, works as a F1 Pundit for British TV outlet Channel 4 and co-founded highly-esteemed talent management company, Jam Sports Management, who looks after future F1 driver Oscar Piastri. He was also inducted in the Australian Motorsport Hall of Fame in 2018.
 
Webber now becomes the fifth motorsport representative to be inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame joining Sir Jack Brabham AO OBE, Alan Jones MBE, Peter Brock AM and Allan Moffat OBE.
 
Motorsport Australia President Andrew Fraser congratulated Webber.
 
“Being inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame is an incredible achievement and further highlights Mark’s stellar career at the highest level of motorsport around the world,” Fraser said.
 
“What Mark achieved in putting Australian drivers back on the map in Formula 1 cannot be underestimated, as well as the longevity for which he had such a prosperous career.
 
“Of course, there were a couple of other Australians who made it to Formula 1 in between Webber and Alan Jones, however Mark’s long standing tenure during the height of his career and his nine Grand Prix wins make him one of this country’s most successful drivers in the sport.
 
“Add his FIA World Endurance Championship title and his work off the track to the fold, Mark is undoubtedly a deserving recipient of this prestigious honour.
 
“On behalf of everyone at Motorsport Australia, and I am sure many in the Australian motorsport industry, a big congratulations to Mark for this outstanding achievement.”
 
Webber was inducted into the Hall of Fame alongside Catherine Cox, Brad Fittler, Tanya Harding, Cara Honeychurch, Chris Judd, Karrie Webb, George Bedbrook and Adrian Hurley.
 
All nine inductees will be honoured in a television special, ‘Sport Australia Hall of Fame - Heroes and Legends’ on Thursday 8 December on the Seven Network.