Webber eyes future at Williams ‘beyond 2006’

(GMMf1NET) Williams' Mark Webber has hinted that he could commit to the Grove based team beyond 2006. For 2005, the Australian driver nearly switched from Jaguar to Renault, but ultimately plumped for Williams, for whom countryman Alan Jones won the 1980 championship.

But for next year, although Heikki Kovalainen is possibly a surer bet, Webber – still managed by Flavio Briatore – is a candidate to fill Fernando Alonso's 2007 seat at French owned Renault.

Webber, 29, tested for the Enstone based team (then Benetton) in 2001.

The blue and yellow camp could be a better bet for the gritty pilot, as Sir Frank Williams's Oxfordshire squad has lost the support of a works carmaker.

''It's my absolute desire that we overcome those dramas and get Williams back to the front this year, and beyond,'' Webber told Australasian Motorsport News.

Mentioning Renault, Mark only suggested that Alonso's 2007 switch 'raises further questions' about the carmaker's future in F1. Webber added: ''The bottom line is it's my desire if at all possible to be at Williams well beyond this year.''