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Lewis: Alonso plays word games

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium - Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton have reacted to comments from Fernando Alonso that Ferrari is the underdog in the race for World title glory.

Spaniard Alonso, despite three wins and being top of the Drivers' log by 40 points, still doubts the pace of his car and even suggested he would have a better chance of a strong points finish for the Italian team if it rained at Sept 2's Belgian F1 GP.

"In terms of performance, out of the contenders or the guys at the front, we are clearly the slowest," he said. "We've the points advantage but a performance disadvantage so I don't think we are the favourite."

'LOT OF PROBLEMS'

Red Bull driver and defending champion Vettel, third on the Drivers' log, 42 points behind Alonso and two shy of his Red Bull team  mate Mark Webber, insisted the Spaniard deserved his lead. "He's not just leading because someone wrote a cheque and gave him that amount of points. He deserves to lead.

"Ferrari seemed to have a lot of problems at the beginning of the season and in winter testing but got its act together and built a very competitive car. The team has been competitive in all kinds of circumstances and conditions. It deserves to be in that position... look at the last couple of races, they were always quick enough to finish on the podium and sometimes to win races."

McLaren's Hamilton, fourth on the Drivers' log after winning in Budapest, echoed Vettel's statements and suggested Alonso was simply playing worrd games. "He would say that, wouldn't he!?" Hamilton said. "He is just positioning himself in a nice way. I could say the same thing.. 'my car is definitely the slowest out of the top four teams, but let's see what we can do with it'.

"I don't know why he would say his car is not as quick - unless he feels he has taken a step backwards, but I don't think that is the case. He's probably the best all-round driver at the moment and bringing in the points consistently. He's finishing every race in the points so doing a solid job - I definitely would not say he has the worst car."

Stay with Wheels24 for the 2012 Belgian F1 weekend.
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