Rival drivers desperate to halt Sebastian Vettel express
Pressure is on for teams to prevent three-time champion German from widening the points gap
As they get ready for the British Grand Prix this weekend, a sense of urgency seems to be creeping into the Ferrari, Lotus and Mercedes paddocks.
Talk was dominated by the abrupt announcement that Red Bull's Mark Webber is leaving Formula One after the season. But for the teams competing for the drivers' championship, the focus remains on Webber's teammate, Sebastian Vettel.
"He's doing a fantastic job. He's been nearly perfect in all the races with no negative races, always performing well in qualifying and doing very good races," said Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, who is second in the title race.
Three-time champion Vettel has shaken off some early season tyre troubles and a controversy with Webber at the Malaysian Grand Prix. The German is back to his dominant best, with the surest sign being his performance at the Canadian Grand Prix this month in which he beat Alonso by 14 seconds.
The 25-year-old Vettel has a 36-point lead over Alonso with 12 races remaining. Lotus driver Raikkonen is another eight points back in third and Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton is another 11 points behind in fourth.
Despite extending his lead, Vettel has tried to dampen down expectations that the championship is already his, insisting he was trailing at this time last season and needed a string of late-season victories to overtake Alonso. Should he win his fourth consecutive championship, Vettel would match the exploits of F1 greats Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher.
His challengers understand they need to start beating Vettel.