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Rivals admit Vettel on cruise for fourth title in a row

Rivals admit Vettel on cruise for fourth title in a row

  • Published on 09 Sep 2013 08:35
  • comments 0
  • By: Rob Veenstra
As he reinforced his dominance on the season with a sixth win of 2013 on Sunday, Sebastian Vettel's rivals acknowledged at Monza the German is on course to be a four-time world champion. With seven races still to run this year, the Red Bull driver's closest challenger is Fernando Alonso -- and the Spaniard's deficit is 53 points.

That means that if the Red Bull simply comes second for the rest of the year, with Alonso's Ferrari managing an unlikely seven-race winning streak, Vettel will still be champion after November's Brazil finale. "I think we need to be realistic about the championship now -- there's a very big gap," Alonso said after finishing second in Italy.

"We don't have enough races (left) and probably we don't have the speed right now. We need to be lucky and we need to have some DNFs from Sebastian or something to win the championship," he added.

Lewis Hamilton is a further 28 points adrift, so he got out of his Mercedes on Sunday and admitted: "Obviously that's that for the championship." Later, after a shower and a team debrief, the Briton insisted he's actually not giving up. But even his boss Toto Wolff admitted to German reporters that continuing to charge for the title is now an "unrealistic" goal.

So with the title looking like a Vettel whitewash, the bigger talking point after the Italian grand prix was the behaviour of the Ferrari-loving 'tifosi'. They chanted, booed and whistled throughout the German national anthem, moving Vettel's teammate Mark Webber - hardly a big fan of the 26-year-old - to surmise that the atmosphere on the podium was "not completely correct".

But Vettel, despite earlier complaining about being booed at Silverstone, seemed less bothered. "I said on the radio on the in-lap that the more booing we get, the better we have done today. It's normal," he told reporters. "I don't blame the people to be honest, I think their love of Ferrari is in their genes."

As for his seemingly inevitable charge for a Michael Schumacher-esque fourth consecutive world championship, the German said he is not celebrating yet. "I don't go for predictions, I go for facts, and fact is that mathematically a number of scenarios are still possible," he told F1's official website. (GMM)
F1 News Fernando Alonso Lewis Hamilton Sebastian Vettel Ferrari Mercedes

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Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
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Bahrain
29 - Mar 2 2024
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
7 - Mar 9 2024
Saudi Arabia
Jeddah Street Circuit
22 - Mar 24 2024
Australia
Albert Park
5 - Apr 7 2024
Japan
Circuit Suzuka
19 - Apr 21 2024
China
Shanghai International Circuit
3 - May 5 2024
United States of America
Miami International Autodrome
17 - May 19 2024
Italy
Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari
24 - May 26 2024
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Monte Carlo
7 - Jun 9 2024
Canada
Gilles Villeneuve
21 - Jun 23 2024
Spain
Circuit de Catalunya
28 - Jun 30 2024
Austria
Red Bull Ring
5 - Jul 7 2024
United Kingdom
Silverstone
19 - Jul 21 2024
Hungary
Hungaroring
26 - Jul 28 2024
Belgium
Spa-Francorchamps
23 - Aug 25 2024
Netherlands
Circuit Zandvoort
30 - Sep 1 2024
Italy
Monza
13 - Sep 15 2024
Azerbaijan
Baku City Circuit
20 - Sep 22 2024
Singapore
Marina Bay Street Circuit
18 - Oct 20 2024
United States of America
Circuit of the Americas
25 - Oct 27 2024
Mexico
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
1 - Nov 3 2024
Brazil
Interlagos
22 - Nov 24 2024
United States of America
Las Vegas Street Circuit
29 - Dec 1 2024
Qatar
Losail International Circuit
6 - Dec 8 2024
United Arab Emirates
Yas Marina Circuit
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United Arab Emirates
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Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
-
Bahrain Bahrain International Circuit
29 - Mar 2 2024
Bahrain Bahrain International Circuit
7 - Mar 9 2024
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
22 - Mar 24 2024
Australia Albert Park
5 - Apr 7 2024
Japan Circuit Suzuka
19 - Apr 21 2024
China Shanghai International Circuit
3 - May 5 2024
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
17 - May 19 2024
Italy Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari
24 - May 26 2024
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7 - Jun 9 2024
Canada Gilles Villeneuve
21 - Jun 23 2024
Spain Circuit de Catalunya
28 - Jun 30 2024
Austria Red Bull Ring
5 - Jul 7 2024
United Kingdom Silverstone
19 - Jul 21 2024
Hungary Hungaroring
26 - Jul 28 2024
Belgium Spa-Francorchamps
23 - Aug 25 2024
Netherlands Circuit Zandvoort
30 - Sep 1 2024
Italy Monza
13 - Sep 15 2024
Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit
20 - Sep 22 2024
Singapore Marina Bay Street Circuit
18 - Oct 20 2024
United States of America Circuit of the Americas
25 - Oct 27 2024
Mexico Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
1 - Nov 3 2024
Brazil Interlagos
22 - Nov 24 2024
United States of America Las Vegas Street Circuit
29 - Dec 1 2024
Qatar Losail International Circuit
6 - Dec 8 2024
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit
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ES Fernando Alonso 14
  • Team Aston Martin
  • Points 572
  • Podiums 9
  • Grand Prix 168
  • Country ES
  • Date of b. Jul 29 1981 (43)
  • Place of b. Oviedo, ES
  • Weight 68 kg
  • Length 1.71 m
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