Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull Racing could destroy Formula One with increasingly ‘unhealthy’ dominance

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Published: 26 March 2013

Sebastian Vettel and his team Red Bull are setting a predictable trend of winning races and dominating Saturday afternoons by claiming pole position – too often.

But Red Bull Racing’s Christian Horner disputed the criticism. “If you look at the championships we have won, two out of three have gone to the last race and have been against the odds,” he said.

“It would be unhealthy for the sport to have a Schumacher level of dominance where it was the Ferraris finishing one and tow at every race. We haven’t seen that in Formula One.”

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After winning the 2008 Italian Grand Prix in Monza under torrential rain, Sebastian Vettel has been unstoppable in his rise to fame among motorsport's elite.

Despite his admiration for ‘Baby Schumi’, Horner does not believe it is possible for Sebastian Vettel to emulate the dominant success of Michael Schumacher, suggesting that the sport is now more competitive.

His comments come on the eve of the qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix, with McLaren’s Martin Whitmarsh saying he was ‘struggling to understand’ their new car and why it lacked grip.

"Ferrari, quite simply, had everything wrapped up," he said. "They had the best tyres, they had the best car, they had a tremendous amount of resource and testing open to them and they had the best driver. That combined created an era of total domination.

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In the last four years, Red Bull Racing has won three Constructors' titles, three Drivers' titles, raced to victory on 34 separate occasions, started from pole in 46 races and accumulated 29 fastest laps. Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel have been a truly astonishing pair.

"In today''s Formula One, with the regulations the way they are, everybody has the same tyre, everybody has the same amount of testing they can do, everything is much more confined. To achieve dominance to the level Michael achieved is virtually impossible, if not impossible.”

Christian said that if Mark Webber performs well this season, he can stay. And for a driver who has helped the team to three consecutive Formula One World Championships, it would be a kind gesture for the Aussie’s ‘merit’.

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Looking like a baby: The triple world champion is aiming to make it four-in-a-row - a rare accomplishment held by fellow countryman Michael Schumacher and Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio.

He added: “Even though we won the last three championships, there has been fantastic racing. What Sebastian and the team have done is significant. Is it unhealthy for the sport? I don’t think so, as long as there is competition.”

"The reality is he didn''t have the best car last year. The McLaren was the best car for a large percentage of the year. Lewis had more pole positions than Sebastian. But Sebastian grabbed, with both hands – as the team did – the opportunities when they arose."