Vettel and Hamilton focused on 2014
The 2014 season will mark the beginning of a new era in Formula 1: while Sebastian Vettel hopes that the competition will remain as tight as ever among the top teams, Lewis Hamilton eagerly awaits these changes to end Red Bull's hegemony.
2014 is approaching quickly and, with it, the first trials and discoveries on the track of the impact of the new regulations. Two of Formula 1’s leading drivers, Sebastian Vettel, a four-time reigning champion with Red Bull, and Lewis Hamilton, the 2008 world champion and Mercedes driver, discussed with Autosport the very near future.
On Sebastian Vettel’s side, uncertainty is the order of the day: “Next year, with a lot of things changing, it’s difficult to predict how it will impact the race. I just hope it won’t create too much of a gap, because what we had over the last two years was a very close fight between a lot of teams.”
I think that in general, we have had good races. Obviously, the race has been criticized for a few reasons that we can explain. But I don’t think it’s entirely fair because if you look back, it’s always been like that for the last 5 or 6 years. We have had very close championships, and then we have had championships that haven’t been as close. But that’s how F1 has been in the past and it will probably continue to be in the future. Between 2009 and 2014, the title was decided twice at the last race (in 2010 and 2012), once at the penultimate race (in 2009), once with four Grand Prix to go, and once with five rounds left in the season (in 2011).
For Lewis Hamilton, a significant change can only be beneficial to start a new era and hope to compete: « If it were an evolution of this year’s car, it would be very hard to beat the Red Bulls because they are too far ahead. I am happy that we are starting from scratch again, otherwise, it would be 5, 6, or 7 world championships [for Red Bull]. »
On the fact that the rules will make driving more difficult, particularly the issue of fuel consumption, the Briton believes that this is not a new problem: « I am not worried about it because I did the same thing this year. It will be very similar next season and you will also always have to take care of the tires. »
« Maybe there will be more fuel savings, but it’s something we’re already doing, » he states, before adding: « Once again, we were doing this in the simulator [with McLaren] and we arrived at the first race with the best package for the KERS and we were ahead of the others, but the car wasn’t good. But I hope we can have both next year. »
