user icon
icon
link-icon
<< Return to the news list
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 Mercedes Ferrari

Replies (0)

Login to reply

BE Grand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

BEGrand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

World Championship standings 2024

Pos
Team
Points
1
Red Bull Racing
195
2
Ferrari
151
3
McLaren
96
4
Mercedes
52
5
Aston Martin
40
6
Visa Cash App RB
7
7
Haas F1
5
Show full world champion standings

Test calendar

Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing

See full test schedule

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

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

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

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

Driver profile

ES Fernando Alonso 14
  • Team Aston Martin
  • Points 533
  • Podiums 9
  • Grand Prix 149
  • Country ES
  • Date of b. Jul 29 1981 (42)
  • Place of b. Oviedo, ES
  • Weight 68 kg
  • Length 1.71 m
Show full profile

Team profile

Mercedes
Mercedes
Show full profile
show sidebar