Alonso vs Vettel: Will the battle continue in 2013?

The countdown has begun. It’s less than a month remaining for the first Formula One race of the 2013 season – The Australian Grand Prix. All the teams are already up on the task to show what their cars are capable of in the initial pre-season tests. But all the eyes are on the big guns of world racing. Sure, everyone has their pick of favourite drivers, to win the championship in 2013. Lot of predictions are already being made but ultimately, it’s all about the points table. All the teams want to fetch maximum points from their first race in Australia, to have a positive momentum for the coming races.

Last year, we saw some extraordinary racing with seven different winners from first seven races held as the championship battle went till the very end of the season. This year, it is believed, the action will be much more exhilarating and we are already getting some glimpses of it in the pre-season tests. Predictions are quite difficult to make at this stage. But there are two men who were tangled in the battle last year and it is assumed that the battle between the two will continue.

For the first fifteen races of the 2012 season, it was Fernando Alonso to held a valuable lead. After a mediocre performance by his teammate Fellipe Massa during the season, Ferrari was counting on Alonso to take them forward. But the party lasted until the two times World Champion, Sebastian Vettel came along to spoil it for the Italian team and the Spaniard. He won four consecutive races starting from Singapore Grand Prix and kept the heat on till the Indian Grand Prix. This was the time when he gave Alonso a real hard time and went past him on the points table after the Korean Grand Prix. But the battle didn’t end there. It went all the way till the final race where Vettel entered with a thirteen point lead. After a rusty start by Vettel, during the final race, he managed to end up at 6th position, winning the Championship by a margin of mere 3 points.

The podium finish is the ultimate aim for all the drivers in a Formula One race. But Fernando Alonso, even after getting a podium finish in his final race in 2012, was left disappointed. He was grief-stricken, but he held on to his emotions, trying to be stronger with a resolve to finish better in 2013. After few pre-season tests, Alonso looks quite confident about the races ahead of him. On 21st February, in Montmello, Spain, during day three of the Formula One Winter Testing, Fernando Alonso was the quickest on the track. He mentioned that his car is in far better shape this year and looked quite comfortable riding it. The Ferrari team were concerned, as the car was lagging in pace by 2 seconds last year. However, the issue seems to have been rectified now. We all know that Alonso is a very competitive driver and he is not going to make things easy for other drivers, especially for the defending champion Sebastian Vettal.

On the other hand, Sebastian Vettel is known to be a fighter and a true champion. His brilliant driving skills and his ability to keep calm during crunch situation makes him an ultimate winner. Team Red Bull has always looked upon Vettel for delivering the goods and he has never let his team down in any manner. Where all the drivers look to defeat Vettel, Vettel in fact just wants to further improve his performance. Even though Alonso was the quickest this Thursday in Spain, Vettel had some great results with the ongoing pre-season testing. He was the fastest on track on the first day of Barcelona pre-season testing. In fact in every pre-season testing recently held, he had positive results. Vettel has won three World Championship titles in a row. His winning run has spelt trouble for other teams and drivers. The threat comes not just from his great driving skills, but also from an efficient pit crew and an amazing team of engineers who can do no wrong for him. Vettel will enter the 2013 season with all the experience and the confidence he has gained from his previous victories. He is one driver who has lot of expectations from his fans and his team and he knows exactly on how to live up to them.

It will be interesting to see who eventually will take the trophy. But the fact is, whoever wins, Formula One fans will get to see some breathtaking action, hoping that the fight for championship goes down to he wire.

For Vettel and Alonso, we just hope that they both will make things tougher for each other again and continue the battle in 2013.

So get ready for some top-notch races. Cheers!