Tuesday, August 8 2006 15:28 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

London: Red Bull Racing has signed Australian driver Mark Webber to partner David Coulthard for next season.

The former Jaguar driver will be returning to Milton Keynes, where the defunct Jaguar Racing outfit were once based until their demise and subsequent takeover in 2004.



Webber announced over the weekend that he would be leaving the Williams team after a dismal season plagued with reliability issues and intimated that he already had signed for another outfit.

"It's fantastic to be joining Red Bull Racing," he said in a team statement on Monday.

"It's clear that the team is very hungry for long-term success, it has a very talented group of personnel and there seems to be a real sense of team spirit and unity. I believe I'm joining the team at exactly the right time for success in the future," he said.

"I hope to bring good experience to the team and to assist it by being a fast and consistent driver and scoring as many points as possible," he said.

"I hope that with Red Bull Racing I can have my best F1 season to date and believe that we can be very, very strong together. I'm looking forward to some great times with David and the rest of the Red Bull Racing team," he said.

Team boss Christian Horner added, "We chose him for a number of straightforward reasons. One, he obviously has undoubted speed and ability, and two, he appears to have the determination and motivation needed to succeed."

"We're entering an exciting new phase in the short history of Red Bull Racing and Mark was an obvious candidate for us. He's got a good track record in F1 and we're delighted to have secured his services for next year. We believe that together he and David will form a very solid partnership, which will give us one of the strongest driver line-ups in the field," he said.