Ferrari has best car in 2012 – Vettel

Sebastian Vettel insists Ferrari has the best car on the 2012 grid.

In an interview with journalists from O Estado de S.Paulo (Brazil), Corriere della Sera (Italy) and Auto Hebdo (France), the reigning world champion reportedly laughed at Alonso and Ferrari’s constant claims that the Spaniard is leading the world championship despite not having the best car.

Referring to last weekend’s German grand prix, Vettel said in Hungary on Thursday: “Fernando was the fastest because he had the best equipment.

“At the moment, Ferrari is the best.  So what I need to do is to be the most consistent.

“They (Ferrari) had a difficult start to the year, but we can see now where they are.  They are the most consistent in all conditions: rain, dry, change of grip from the circuit, cold, hot …

“Ferrari has the best package at the moment; they’re fast and reliable.  At Hockenheim they kept us and McLaren behind.  This is a fact, not my interpretation,” the German insisted.

Vettel denied that part of Alonso’s advantage is that his teammate, Felipe Massa, is entirely subservient, rather than taking points from one another as do the teammates at Red Bull and McLaren.

“It’s not good for a racing team to have one driver fighting for wins and the other with significantly lower results,” he insisted.

“From the outside we cannot understand the reasons that Felipe is not able to show his natural speed, because he is very fast.

“People forget that if his (Massa’s) engine had not broken here (in Hungary) in 2008, he would have won the title.  Now he’s miles away from the top of championship, even though the car is working well.

“I don’t understand that,” added Vettel.

It is on that final point – the driver equality question at Ferrari – that Vettel has some doubt about whether he wants to be with the famous Italian team.

Asked if he would accept being Alonso’s teammate at Ferrari, he answered: “I don’t know.

“I hear so much about his contract with Ferrari that it makes me think about it.  It depends on the situation.

“I am not afraid of fighting with Fernando at the same team, because that’s good for the team, good for you.  It’s much better than having a teammate who is slower.”

© RIF | GMM