“”He has just had a phenomenal car for a long, long time and it
still is phenomenally quick and he does the job,” Hamilton said. “It’s a
perfect package. But we’ve had some really strong races and we’ve been there
or thereabouts in competing with them. We have finished ahead of them in the
past so it doesn’t mean we can’t do that in these next races.”
Alonso had a commanding lead over Vettel
going into the Belgian Grand Prix last year but ended up losing out by three
points at the end of the season. That experience ensured Red Bull team
principal Christian Horner will not take Vettel’s lead for granted. “Fernando
managed to [lose it] last year so nothing is impossible,” Horner said.
“Twenty-five points for a victory, a couple of DNFs and somebody puts a run
together and you can be on the back foot again.
“I don’t think you can write anybody off. There are still a lot of points
available. But you’d probably have to say the podium [drivers] today are
going to be the main contenders between now and the end of the year.”
(Editing by Robert Dineen)