Damon Hill doesn’t expect Sebastian Vettel to remain unchallenged for too long. The 1996 world champion is confident fans are in for a close and exciting season.
He highlighted McLaren’s pre-Australia turnaround as something of a ‘surprise’ after witnessing their pre-season form at the Barcelona test.
Not only does he believe McLaren will catch Red Bull, but he is certain the remainder of the front-runners, Ferrari, Mercedes and Renault, will be on the Bulls pace sooner or later, leading to some exciting races.
“I thought Ferrari would make more progress, and I was surprised to see the McLaren’s up there after how they had performed in testing,” Hill is quoted as saying. “The McLaren’s are not that far behind.
“I think this season is going to be close enough, and I think we’ll see some catching up,” he added. “The reason is it’s difficult to maintain a peak if you have a car of perfection when you arrive in the championship.
“Everybody else will just follow and catch up, so I’m sure the gap will close, and it will be more like last season with a handful of guys in the frame well beyond the halfway stage.
“I don’t see that being any different this year. I don’t think it is going to be a walkover for Sebastian.”
On the subject of McLaren’s form, Hill added that McLaren are one of a few teams which will always be on the pace, no matter what.
“They are certainly back in the frame when everybody thought they weren’t in it at all.
“There are certain teams that have such depth of experience and talent in the design department that they will always be in the frame, and they are one of them.”
