Webber: contract extension

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Mark Webber has signed a one-year contract extension with Red Bull Racing, the team have confirmed.

The deal comes after the strong start the Australian has made to the 2008 season, with Webber bringing his Renault-powered RB4 car home in the points at six of the eight races prior to this weekend's British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

His best result came at the Monaco Grand Prix with a fourth-place finish.

The 31-year-old, who has previously raced for Minardi, Jaguar and Williams, will therefore stay with the Milton Keynes-based squad until the end of the 2009 season.

"I am very happy to have signed up for another year with Red Bull Racing so early in the season," Webber said. "Continuing with Red Bull Racing for 2009 was a very easy decision for me to make.

"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 10 months has been excellent and I am looking forward to carrying that momentum through to the end of the season."

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner added: "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."

The announcement came on the same afternoon that Webber's team-mate David Coulthard confirmed he is to retire at the end of the current season after 15 years in Formula One.