Vettel: McLaren team to beat
2012-04-10 09:35
CHASING SILVER: Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel says McLaren will be his main rivals in 2012 after a thrilling first two races of the season left the defending champion trailing behind Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton.
McLaren remains "the team to beat" despite the topsy-turvy outcome of the recent Malaysian Formula 1 GP.
That's the claim of current World champion Sebastian Vettel who has slumped to sixth in the Drivers' standings after a dire weekend in Malaysia.
The Red Bull driver is now behind Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and even Sauber's Sergio Perez.
THE TEAM TO BEAT
Vettel, however, has his sights set on McLaren. Asked to name the "best team" of the moment, Vettel answered: "There are several but McLaren seems very strong right now - the team to beat."
Vettel received a small memento of the Melbourne podium in March but a more impressive prize was the prestigious Grand Prix de l'Academie des Sports that he collected from International Automobile Federation president Jean Todt recently in Paris.
Vettel sid: "That was my first trophy (of 2012) but I want much more than that!"
"It's a long championship. We did quite a good job in Australia; Malaysia was chaotic with the weather. We have a good car and the objective is to fight for the title."
