Mark Webber crash: Former F1 driver lucky to escape serious injury after horror WEC accident

Webber started the season finale from pole position but the the wall hard after colliding with a Ferrari

Former Formula One driver and fan favourite Mark Webber was lucky to escape serious injury after a horror crash during the season-ending FIA World Endurance Championship race in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Webber was seen to slam into the wall in his No 20 Porsche 919 Hybrid, which he shares with German Timo Bernhard and New Zealander Brendon Hartley. Webber, who is ending his first season in the championship after ending his 12-year spell in F1, collided with the No 90 AF Corse Ferrari of Matteo Cressoni, and both drivers were hugely lucky to escape serious injury.

A statement on the official FIA website read: "The race ended under the safety car after a serious accident between the #20 Porsche of Mark Webber and the #90 AF Corse Ferrari of Matteo Cressoni.

"Both drivers were taken to the circuit's medical centre and, after initial examination, to the local Hospital Bandeirantes for further checks, their condition has been reported as satisfactory."

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The Porsche Motorsport Twitter account soon confirmed Webber’s safety, posting: “Heavy crash for @AussieGrit in #porsche919hybrid no 20. Driver is ok. @PorscheNewsroom @FIAWEC.”

It was later reported that Webber had suffered soreness to his ribs and back in the shunt.

The race weekend was filled with highs and lows for the Porsche team, who only returned to the LMP1 category at the start of this year. The car of Webber, Bernhard and Hartley had secured pole position on Saturday, before the Australian’s horror smash ended the race prematurely.

However, that meant that the sister No 14 car of Romain Dumas, Neel Jani and Marc Lieb secured the manufacturer’s first win this season, finishing ahead of the newly-crowned champions of Anthony Davidson and Sebastian Buemi in the No 8 Toyota and the No 1 Audi of Lucas Di Grassi, Loic Duval and the retiring Tom Kristensen.

The second-place result for Toyota was enough the secure the Manufacturers’ Championship, meaning a clean sweep of the trophies on offer for the LMP1 teams, while Kristensen bowed out of the sport after an incredible 15-year career with Audi that has produced two World Endurance Championship titles and an unrivalled nine Le Mans 24 Hours victories (his 2004 success came in a Bentley).