Sebastian Vettel has said that he wants to win and to beat new team-mate Mark Webber in 2009. The 21-year-old German was speaking to reporters at the launch of his new Red Bull Racing RB5 and said that he was feeling positive about the year to come.
“The target is to win. Obviously it’s not correct sitting here and say I am going to win the world championship. I want to, but we need to see.”
The young ace reserved judgement on the car however, until later today, when he will test it for the first time.
“We need to see how we are going, where we are in comparison to the others. I believe that the new rules could give a chance to teams like us to close the gap to the front but the favourites are Ferrari and McLaren, no doubt.’
He added that his team-mate Webber represented a challenge which he would have to meet. The Australian has a reputation for outclassing team-mates and this year has the potential excuse of cycling injuries. Vettel brushed off suggestions that his team-mate would use a lack of fitness as an excuse.
”If Mark is in the car he will be fit, if he is not fit he will not be in the car. So far, as I have spoken with him the recovery is going on well. It’s not an easy thing to handle for him but I believe he is experienced and wise enough to know if it is good for him to race.”
When asked if he wanted to beat Webber in Melbourne, Vettel replied:
”That is the target.”
