McLaren's Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button confident of ending Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel’s winning streak
McLaren drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button have claimed to end the winning run of Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel. The reigning Formula 1 champion has won the opening two races of the 2011 season, making it four consecutive race victories for him. He
claimed the championship in style last year, winning the final two Grand Prix in Brazil and Abu Dhabi.
Hamilton stated, “We made a lot of progress in Malaysia in terms of speed and in qualifying and we were fast in the race. I am not dwelling on what happened during the race, but I felt we had the speed to compete with the Red Bull and now I am thinking only
of beating them.”
On the other hand, Button was also confident of catching up with the champions. He stated, “When someone makes a start like Sebastian has this season, it is tricky for the rest of us. But although I am already a lot of points behind him, I do feel we are
closing in on the Red Bull pace.”
The outcome of the winter testing gave a clear indication that Red Bull was ahead of its rivals. However, they were matched by Ferrari, and the Italian team was looking good before the season opener in Australia. On the other hand, the 2010 runner-up team,
McLaren seemed to be struggling for pace and reliability.
Things totally changed once the season officially kicked off, as the British team proved to be quick enough to match Red Bull whereas Ferrari were below par. The scarlet car was unable to finish on the podium in both races of the current season and things
don’t look ideal for them for the upcoming race in China.
The main concern for the Italian team is their lack of speed in qualifiers. Although the team has managed to qualify in the top ten, both Alonso and Massa have been unable to set a good enough time to finish in the top four on the grid.
However, there has been a lost of progress for McLaren and they definitely have the potential to give a tough time to Vettel. The Vodafone sponsored team was unable to fight for a win in Australia, but they made rapid progress in Malaysia.
There is one more driver, who can put an end to Vettel’s winning run. According to Red Bull’s team principal, Christian Horner, that challenger is Mark Webber. The Australian is currently 28 points behind his teammate, but will be aware of the fact that
there are 17 more races in the season to come.
Webber had some technical issues with his car during the race day in Malaysia, but will be eying a turn around in China, where he finished eighth in the last season.
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