Vettel Rivals Must Hope For Mistakes, Problems - Lauda
By: GMM
Photo by: Red Bull GmbH and GEPA pictures GmbH
Ferrari had winning pace at Silverstone two weeks ago but Fernando Alonso and Niki Lauda insist Red Bull is still the overwhelming favourite for the title.
Mark Webber, runaway championship leader Sebastian Vettel's teammate, told Auto Motor und Sport that Ferrari's winning pace in Britain was "no fluke".
"We can assume that this was not the only Ferrari victory for the year," said the Australian.
"We can't make excuses for Silverstone -- even our KERS worked flawlessly," admitted Webber.
Spaniard Alonso is bullish about the recent improvements to his Ferrari and is not completely writing off his chances.
"If we manage to put Red Bull under pressure they can make mistakes," he is quoted by Speed Week, "and then anything is possible."
But Spanish and Italian reports quote him as adding: "To talk about the world championship with this (points) gap would be to not understand formula one."
Alonso said his strategy is therefore simple.
You have to risk in every qualifying and every race and hope for Red Bull to make mistakes
"You have to risk in every qualifying and every race and hope for Red Bull to make mistakes. If it was my advantage I would play more cautiously, but now I can only attack."
Triple world champion Niki Lauda agrees that it would be wrong for Ferrari to give up and switch is full focus to 2012.
"Absolutely, it's still too early," the great Austrian told Die Welt.
But when asked what Ferrari and the other pursuers must hope for from Red Bull and Vettel, Lauda said clearly: "Mistakes and technical problems. But why should that happen?
"No matter what happens now, I predict Sebastian will win the title three races before the end of the season."
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
The season is still very long - Rosberg
Jules Bianchi's father speaks of family's continued hopes
Sauber under no illusions about constructors' position
Alonso: No F1 team has Aston Martin’s ‘ambitions’ as Newey intrigue flies
Alonso will be "first to raise my hand" if he loses F1 edge at 45
Suzuka sensation redeemed Alonso, but his F1 future is complicated
Hamilton needs talk with Wolff to prepare Ferrari F1 move
What's been going wrong for Leclerc in F1's tiny margins qualifying game
F1 Chinese GP: How to watch, ESPN Formula 1 TV times in USA
Porsche lodges appeal over da Costa's Misano Formula E disqualification
Ricky Taylor looking for redemption at Long Beach
How Senna’s early Pacific GP exit raised his Benetton suspicions
What could have been: When Villeneuve’s shock return thwarted an F1 rookie
What's been going wrong for Leclerc in F1's tiny margins qualifying game
What the Chinese GP's highlights reveal about its first F1 race for five years
The secrets of F1 turbocharging explained
Why Alpine’s rigorous training camp yields telling insights into its juniors
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments