McLaren remains "the team to beat" despite the topsy-turvy outcome of the recent Malaysian grand prix. That is the claim of reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel, having slumped to sixth in the drivers' standings after a dire weekend in Malaysia.
The formerly-dominant Red Bull driver now lags a Ferrari and even a Sauber, after Fernando Alonso and the unlikely Sergio Perez proved the cream of the slippery Sepang circuit. Vettel, however, is still thinking silver. Asked by the French-language RMC Sport to name the 'best team' of the moment, the German answered: "There are several. But McLaren seems very strong right now. They are the team to beat," said Vettel.
The trophy enthusiast received a small memento on the Melbourne podium last month, but a more impressive prize was the prestigious Grand Prix de l'Academie des Sports that he collected from FIA president Jean Todt recently in Paris.
"That was my first trophy (of 2012)," he laughed, "but I want much more than that! It's a long championship," Vettel argued. "We did quite a good job in Australia, and Malaysia was chaotic with the weather. We have a good car and the objective is to fight for the title." (GMM)
Sebastian Vettel considers McLaren as the team to beat
- Published on 10 Apr 2012 12:15
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- By: Rob Veenstra
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Driver profile
- Team Aston Martin
- Points 631
- Podiums 9
- Grand Prix 204
- Country ES
- Date of b. Jul 29 1981 (45)
- Place of b. Oviedo, ES
- Weight 68 kg
- Length 1.71 m
- 188,111 comments on Aston Martin
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- Team name Sauber
- Base - Switzerland
- Gabriel Bortoleto
- Kimi Räikkönen 7
- Felipe Massa 8
- Marcus Ericsson 9
- Nico Hülkenberg 11
- Felipe Nasr 12
- Esteban Gutierrez 12
- Felipe Massa 12
- Felipe Massa 12
- Kamui Kobayashi 14
- Sergio Perez 15
- Charles Leclerc 16
- Kamui Kobayashi 16
- Sergio Perez 17
- Kimi Räikkönen 17
- Esteban Gutierrez 21
- Kamui Kobayashi 23
- Guanyu Zhou 24
- Nico Hülkenberg 27
- Antonio Giovinazzi 36
- Valtteri Bottas 77
- Pascal Wehrlein 94
- Adrian Sutil 99
- 115,816 comments on Sauber
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