Vettel: Alonso, one of the most respected drivers

Sebastian Vettel won his second duel in three seasons last year by beating Fernando Alonso for only three points. The battle among the top teams should once again be interesting in 2013, the teams having preferred to update their single-seaters from last year by taking advantage of the stability of the technical regulations to already concentrate on 2014. If all the analyzes remain conditional, the three-time world champion expects to see the pilot of the Team Ferrari fighting against him. “I think Fernando is one of the most respected and recognized drivers in the world”, said the pilot Red Bull in Melbourne. “He has the ability to be on the limit in almost all circumstances. He is a very intelligent driver and that is the reason why he always fights for the Championship until the end for many years. Fortunately, we have had the upper hand in recent seasons but he is sure to do his best to make things difficult for everyone this year. » 

Despite the solid foundations on which the RB9 was built, Sebastian Vettel, like Fernando Alonso, expects a very competitive season between the different top teams who have had time to correct certain faults of previous models in the hope of reducing the gap on Red. Bull who had once again dominated the end of the season. “The secret is not to think about what happened in the last three years, but I think the first title was very special”, added the three-time world champion. “After that, we no longer have the same pressure. We are more interested in proving something to ourselves. I then had two more very different fantastic years. We are here, we have zero points at the moment like everyone else. Everyone has their chances, single-seaters haven't really changed. We saw it was close last year so I don't expect it to be any different this season, maybe even more so. »