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It would be daft for anybody to suggest that reigning world champion, German wunderkind and runaway points leader, Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, finds his grasp on the championship under threat solely on the basis of last weekend’s British Grand Prix.
Many would describe the outcome as an aberration in the 24-year-old’s march towards becoming the first back-to-back champion since Fernando Alonso in 2005 and 2006 with Renault.
But that man’s victory for Ferrari at Silverstone has offered some hope that this year won’t become a repeat of 2004, when Michael Schumacher won twelve of the first thirteen races, and wrapped up his seventh, and to date final, title with five races remaining.
The irony is that Vettel’s lead over his nearest rival in the standings has grown, from the seventy-seven points after Valencia, to the eighty-point buffer he now enjoys over his team-mate, Mark Webber.
To put that in perspective, Vettel could decide to take an extended summer break, skip the next three races, return for the Italian GP, and still most likely hold a lead that extends into double digits, perhaps even the twenty-five points offered for victory.
This would be boring to accept, so from Alonso’s victory, it is nice to know that we could still have a championship on our hands.
Remember, it was this man who last year looked least likely to contend for the title, being forty-seven points adrift of then points’ leader, Lewis Hamilton, who went to the season finale leading the standings, and as the man considered most likely to prevail.
Though he is nearly twice that far off the pace this time around, at 92 points, dismiss Alonso’s prowess at your peril. Given the inroads made at Maranello at recent events, there is every chance that the Spaniard will add to his first victory of the season.
Ferrari were the quickest outfit in the second half of 2010, and they are certainly on track to do something similar this season.
McLaren seem to be slipping further back, despite Jenson Button’s success at Canada, which with all due respect, was largely due to divine intervention from the heavens, safety cars, and a rare mistake on Vettel’s part. Then there’s Lewis Hamilton, enough said!
Mark Webber doesn’t seem to be able to get on the top step of the podium, try as he may. Even if he gets in a position to do that, everybody knows what will happen, so there’s no point denying it.
Alonso’s team-mate Felipe Massa looks racey, but never quite delivers when the opportunity arises.
All of which leaves the path clear for the man himself, Alonso, to launch an all out assault on Vettel in the back half of this season.
The end of the blown diffuser debacle which dominated the British GP could well see Red Bull return to their unbeatable ways, out of sight by the first corner, but if any man is to take the challenge up to the German, his name is Fernando Alonso.
It would be a victory for the sport and fans alike if further life were to be breathed into the season, any competition for the German would be welcome.
At the end of the day though, Sebastian Vettel is good, very good, and if he does make up at Nurburgring for the blip on his radar, and goes on to enjoy the ultimate success for a second year running, there will be no denying he will be an extremely deserving victor.
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