Vettel will continue to dominate in 2012 according to Briatore
Flavio Briatore is confined to a role as an observer in Formula 1, following his ban from working in F1 after the crashgate scandal. But the Italian likes to give his opinion this season and he admitted that he can't wait for the 2011 season to end because Vettel's domination is boring according to him. However, he also thinks that it should continue in 2012.
Sebastian Vettel was clearly the driver of the year, securing 13 pole positions and 11 victories in 17 Grand Prix. He won the drivers’ world championship and significantly contributed to the constructors’ title clinched by Red Bull Racing. The German driver, now a double world champion, truly appears to be in a league of his own this season.
Flavio Briatore is eagerly awaiting the end of the season as he finds it boring, but the former Renault F1 director remains realistic and thinks there is a good chance it will be the same next season, as the Red Bull team seems to be ahead of its rivals.
Even Webber can’t compete against him. I’m really looking forward to the championship ending because it’s getting boring, but I don’t think it’ll be much different next year. With the same regulations, I don’t see how they (Ferrari) can close the gap on Red Bull and McLaren – in 17 years I’ve never seen a team make up 6 or 7 tenths in just two months, Briatore told the radio La Politica nel Pallone.
Contrary to what Flavio Briatore says, the regulations for the 2012 season will not be exactly the same as this season, the major difference being the banning of blown diffusers, which Red Bull and Renault have mastered perfectly – which could therefore cost the Austrian team some performance, even if it should not completely reshuffle the deck.
What could change the situation would be seeing Red Bull’s rivals design innovative cars for 2012, which is the goal of Scuderia Ferrari or Mercedes GP – who have designed a derivative of the F-Duct for 2012. However, the performance gap between the RB7 and its rivals still seems too large to be bridged in such a short time. It is nevertheless difficult to speculate on what will happen in 2012, as it’s likely that Red Bull and Adrian Newey will not rest on their laurels.
