Red Bull adviser: Webber may retire in '12

Red Bull adviser Dr. Helmut Marko let slip in a television interview Sunday that Australian Formula One driver Mark Webber is likely to retire next year.

Discussing the future of rising star Daniel Ricciardo with Australian TV station ONE, Marko said, "We need to find one of our juniors who can replace Mark Webber. . . . He is probably going to retire in 2012."

It is likely Marko was referring to the end of 2012 and that Webber will continue with the team for at least one more year before reconsidering his options, FOX Sports Australia reported.

Marko said Red Bull wanted to see Ricciardo — who is also Australian — improve in the Hispania Racing Team before the 22-year-old stepped up to the stronger Toro Rosso or Red Bull teams in the future.

Webber, 34, is in his 10th F1 season and his fifth with Red Bull. After his fifth place at Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix, he is running a distant second in the championship to his teammate Sebastian Vettel.

Last year, Webber finished third overall, while in 2009 he posted his first top-10 championship finish, ending the year in fourth.

He has won a total of six races in 168 starts, with 26 podiums, but his first podium did not come until 2009, when he placed second at the Chinese Grand Prix. His first win came six races later, at the 2009 German Grand Prix.