Mark Webber is set to hold showdown talks with Red Bull before the end of the month to thrash out his future with the team.
Webber’s stay at Red Bull has been thrown into doubt in recent weeks following
his now infamous spat with team-mate Sebastian Vettel at the Malaysian Grand Prix
.
And amid growing talk that team principal Christian Horner is searching for a replacement, Webber is set to sit down and clarify his future.
'The ball is pretty firmly in my court, which is nice, I have to - of course - continue to keep driving well obviously then that ball will go out of your court and other people will roll in to that seat because they're probably going to be more attractive to a team like Red Bull. But for myself the relationship is very good with Dietrich Mateschitz and I've been in touch with him over the last six to eight months and will continue to be on where my thinking's at and where my energy level's at and where my motivation is towards still operating at this sort of level.' The Aussie told
ESPN.
It is thought that the Australian wants similar terms to
those in Vettel’s new deal or he will consider leaving when his contract expires in order to take up a lucrative role with Porsche Motorsport.
Horner though insists he wants Webber to stay and talks will take place shortly over his future.
‘Our driver pairing is one of the most successful in formula one history. We stand behind this team and will be having a conversation with Mark shortly.’ Horner told ESPN.
If Webber does not commit, Red Bull have drawn up a three-man shortlist of potential replacements,
which include Kimi Raikkonen, Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne.
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