AUGUST 26, 2013

Red Bull plays down chance of Monza dominance

Red Bull is playing down expectations Sebastian Vettel will continue his dominance next weekend at Monza.

Red Bull is playing down expectations Sebastian Vettel will continue his dominance next weekend at Monza.

Although some insiders thought Mercedes would have the upper hand on the long Spa-Francorchamps straights, German Vettel dominated the Belgian grand prix from start to finish.

Monza is an even higher-speed and lower-downforce circuit, but Vettel is not so sure the RB9 will continue to dominate in Italy.

"It's very difficult to predict," said the reigning triple world champion, whose points advantage over Fernando Alonso is now 46 points with eight races to go.

"We had some painful years (at Monza), where we just got hammered down the straights, and we've had years where the loss down the straight was limited, so we could come back in the corners.

"How it turns out to be this year is difficult to say," added Vettel.

Designer Adrian Newey is also unsure.

"I think Monza could be a difficult circuit for us," he is quoted by Italy's Autosprint. "There are a lot of straights and not so many corners."

(GMM)