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The Red Bull team announced today that Mark Webber will be driving for the team in 2009.

The team statement read:

Red Bull Racing is pleased to announce that it has reached an agreement with Mark Webber for him to continue driving for the team in 2009.

MARK WEBBER

I'm very happy to have signed up for another year with Red Bull Racing so early in the season. As far back as the middle of last year, it was very clear to me that I enjoyed working with the team, playing my part in its development and helping it move forward. So far this year, our reliability has improved and that's allowed us to exploit our performance. The progress the team has made in the last ten months has been excellent and I am looking forward to carrying that momentum through to the end of the season. Continuing with Red Bull Racing for 2009 was a very easy decision for me to make, as I enjoy being part of this team and that has shown through in my driving. It's very difficult to predict how any team will perform in twelve months time, but we have some clever people here, with a stable team and I believe 2009 will see us in even better shape for next year, when the technical regulations go through a major change.

CHRISTIAN HORNER

Earlier in the season both parties expressed a desire to continue working together and so it was a very quick and short discussion that led to an extension of our agreement. Mark has driven fantastically well this year. He has really demonstrated that he is a world class driver and this year the team has been able to give him the tools to endorse that fact. While all our efforts are currently concentrated on maintaining our fourth place in the Constructors' Championship, the next challenge facing us is to make the big step and challenge the top three teams and we believe Mark is absolutely the right guy to have in the car to help us achieve that.

Earlier, David Coulthard announced his retirement from active racing in Formula 1 but will remain as a consultant for Red Bull and help in testing and developing the car.

A statement from David Coulthard read:

I would like to announce today my decision to retire from racing in Formula One at the end of this season. I will remain actively involved in the sport as a consultant to Red Bull Racing focusing on testing and development of the cars. I have an open mind as to whether or not I will compete again in the future, in some other form of motorsport, so I am definitely not hanging up my helmet!

My decision to retire was taken earlier in the year and is based on a desire to stop while I am still competitive and enjoying the immense challenge that Grand Prix driving represents. I also have the desire to look for new challenges within the sport.

The decision to make this announcement at the British GP should be an obvious one for all to understand, as I have achieved two of my thirteen F1 victories at Silverstone and I am a member of the British Racing Drivers' Club, which hosts this event.

I am proud of my work at Red Bull Racing and will continue to race with the same focus until the last lap in Brazil. Thereafter I will continue to help the team develop and move towards their ultimate goal of winning races.

There are many people who have played a part in my career and I would like to list a few of them below;

- My parents whose energy and encouragement through my entire career has been amazing
- Dave Boyce who guided me through Karting
- David Leslie Senior and Junior for teaching me how to set up and race a car
- Sir Jackie and Paul Stewart for putting me through their "staircase of talent"
- Sir Frank Williams and Williams Renault for having the faith to promote me from test driver to race driver, which lead to my first GP victory
- Ron Dennis and the McLaren team where I spent nine seasons and achieved the majority of my success.

- Norbert Haug and Mercedes for being racers through and through
- Dietrich Mateschitz and his Red Bull Racing team for providing me with the chance to contribute to the development of a new team, while continuing to compete and add to my tally of podiums

- Christian Horner for his open and professional management style in association with Helmut Marko
- Bernie Ecclestone for providing such a strong platform for us all to develop our skills and be able to call ourselves professionals. In years to come, my future family will still be thanking him for the financial success of F1

- My management team of Martin Brundle and David Cawthorne in association with Annette Hutchinson and Iain Cunningham for providing their valued opinions.

- There have been three teams but only one designer, so Adrian Newey deserves special thanks for all the champagne that I have sprayed

- And last but not least, all the media, officials, marshals, medical support, mechanics, engineers, sponsors, lawyers, accountants and back room staff that I have worked with during this period.

And the Red Bull Racing team issued the following statement:

Following David Coulthard's announcement that he plans to retire from race driving in Formula 1 after the end of the 2008 season, Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner commented:

Working with David has been an absolute pleasure and his contribution to the team over the past four seasons has been significant. He is a consummate professional and I think that one of the key elements to the length of his career is the dedication he has applied and the commitment he has shown to the team. He has demonstrated that he is a real team player, a fact reinforced by the statistic that he has only driven for two other F1 teams in his career. To date, he has won thirteen grands prix and there could have been many more if you count the near misses and the ones he gifted to other drivers! He scored our first point, our first podium and was the first of our drivers to lead a grand prix. Above all, he is a gentleman and I regard him as a good friend. Within the team there's a huge amount of respect for David. His retirement brings to a close not just his career as a grand prix racing driver but also a chapter in the history of Formula 1, if one considers the changes the sport has been through while he has been involved with it.

Now he heads off to face a new challenge. Red Bull Racing will still be utilising his services and he will on occasion drive the car in test sessions for us so that we can draw upon his vast experience and knowledge. He will be involved as a consultant to the team and to the technical group as we look to extract the maximum from his considerable experience of Formula 1. I don't think he will be struggling to fill his time!

Red Bull is one lucky team having a driver as good as Webber wanting to carry on driving for them.

Coulthard should be a great asset for their team working for them behind the scenes. He should have in my opinion retired at the end of last year. A good solid driver who should be able to help Red Bull improve.

Southernman wrote:Red Bull is one lucky team having a driver as good as Webber wanting to carry on driving for them.

Coulthard should be a great asset for their team working for them behind the scenes. He should have in my opinion retired at the end of last year. A good solid driver who should be able to help Red Bull improve.