For Alonso, Vettel still has to prove himself
The double Spanish world champion believes that the Red Bull driver has not yet fully proven himself and is waiting to see him behind the wheel of an average car, thus echoing recent statements by Ross Brawn concerning the German.
Recently, Pedro de la Rosa stated to the news agency EFE that, in his opinion, Hamilton, Vettel, and Alonso are the only drivers capable of winning Grand Prix without having the best car on the grid. However, when interviewed by Diario Sport, Fernando Alonso qualified his compatriot’s comments: “We have only seen two [win Grand Prix without having the best car], for the third, we still have to wait. We will see when Vettel has a car that cannot do better than sixth and he achieves a second, third, or fourth place. So far, we have only seen him in a car that could win the championship with five Grand Prix remaining, so we have to wait,” commented the Ferrari driver, although he omitted Sebastian Vettel’s victory for Toro Rosso at Monza in 2008.
The statements of the 2005 and 2006 world champion nonetheless echo those made by Ross Brawn following Vettel’s victory last October: “For Sebastian, what will happen now, which will be an interesting phase of his career, will be when he does not have the best car,” confided the Team Principal of Mercedes GP. “I think we have a fantastic driver in the best car, and this combination is unbeatable. It will be interesting to see Sebastian’s role, his influence and position when, eventually, he does not have the best car and he will have to make it the best.”
Indeed, it has often been claimed in Formula One that great champions have shown their skills at the wheel of average cars. Such was the case for Lewis Hamilton in 2009 when he won the Hungarian and Singapore Grand Prix, as well as Fernando Alonso on multiple occasions: at the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2003 for his first victory, in Japan in 2008 after his controversial win at the Singapore Grand Prix, and more recently in Great Britain in 2011. Moreover, despite being crowned twice as world champion, notably in 2005 when he clinched the title two races before the end, the Spaniard claimed on the evening of his podium in Abu Dhabi that although it was poor in terms of results, his 2011 season was his best so far: « I fully understand people’s disappointment because we only hit the jackpot once and because we fought for the title until the last race last year and expectations were high, but as far as I’m concerned, both 2010 and 2011 have been the best seasons I’ve ever had in my life and they will be difficult to replicate. »
