Vettel praises faultless Red Bull
Sebastian Vettel believes Red Bull have been “faultless” this year after ending the season in style with a one-two triumph yesterday in Brazil.
It was not the order arguably expected before the race as Vettel was forced to settle for second behind team-mate Mark Webber who finally took the chequered flag for the first time in 26 races.
After a first-lap puncture wrecked his race in Abu Dhabi earlier this month, on this occasion gearbox gremlins denied the 24-year-old German his 12th victory of the season.
Despite that, the double world champion could not hold back his pride in the team as he said: “We have had a great, great season.
“The team has been faultless most of the time as they have raised their level massively compared to the last two years.
“We are passionate and it doesn’t matter if we have to work until late or work harder than others.
“We are ready to take that because we know how sweet it can taste at the end of the race or the end of the season.”
After finishing 122 points clear of second-placed Jenson Button, almost the equivalent of five race wins, Vettel added: “Looking at the championship score obviously it wasn’t that tight.
“But that shows how good we work on the operational side, more or less getting 100% out of us as a package all the time.
“We can be really proud of that. I’m very proud of that. This will be a year that we will look back on and always be proud of.”
Webber, who finished 17 seconds ahead of Vettel in claiming the seventh win of his career, echoed Vettel’s sentiments.
“We were bomb-proof in many areas and that made it hard for the opposition, so that is important,” said Webber.
He admitted, however, one of few areas for improvement moving into the 2012 season lay within himself.
After a disappointing year for the Australian in which he finished 134 points adrift of Vettel, Webber is well aware he needs to up his game over the winter.
“I think I can have a stronger season than this year,” said Webber. “You’ve got to look at different areas to get to the highest level, and when the bar’s high it’s obviously not just Seb.
“I don’t think about just him. We’ve some class operators in other teams: Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso. These boys are on the case.
“One of the most important things is I’ve started to feel the car a bit better, in terms of direction and working better with the guys and what we need to do.
“That happened a while ago and has actually helped both of us again because we’ve got the most out of the car and that’s been a success for the team as well.
“All the guys on my car have worked their nuts off all year so it’s been good, and I’m happy to get the win today.”
