Webber, Coulthard confirmed at Red Bull

Webber announced this week that he will leave the Williams team at the end of the season after the British outfit did not take up an option on him and instead signed Alex Wurz for the second seat.

Twenty-nine-year-old Webber will partner Briton David Coulthard at Red Bull next year after the team also confirmed the Scot for another season.

Webber had driven for Jaguar, the team Red Bull bought nearly two years ago, for two seasons before joining Williams.

"It's fantastic to be joining Red Bull Racing," said Webber. "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.

"After I left Jaguar Racing at the end of the 2004 season and discovered that Mr. Mateschitz was taking over the team, I said that I felt the team had been placed in very good hands and had an assured future. As a team, it seems to be very realistic and knows the challenge that lies ahead.

"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.

"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."

Coulthard added: "I'm delighted to continue with Red Bull Racing for a third season. I can feel that the team is really beginning to gel as a group.

"I'm looking forward to raising the performance of the team and the car and to see Red Bull Racing become a regular points scorer, in with a good shout for achieving podiums and wins."

The news mean Austrian Christian Klien will not have a racing seat at Red Bull next year.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank Christian Klien for all his hard efforts for the team over the last two seasons," said team boss Christian Horner.

"He will remain a Red Bull Racing driver until the end of the 2006 season, and we will continue to give him all the support that we can during that time."