Vettel under threat at Valencia
24 June 2010
Sebastian Vettel has got a major fight on his hands if he wants to hang onto his number one status in the Castrol Rankings this weekend.
The German took the number one spot from World Champion Jenson Button at the Australian Grand Prix and has held it for 12 weeks - more than anyone else this year.
However, his Red Bull Formula 1 team-mate Mark Webber is lurking in the shadows, and has been gradually closing in on Vettel for the last five races.
The animosity generated in Turkey when the pair collided while fighting for the lead is - if what the team says is true - behind the drivers now. They say it's a fair fight, and that means every man for himself at this weekend's European Grand Prix on the Valencia Street Circuit.
And fight Vettel must. The number one spot is his for now, but the youngster must this weekend discard his score from the 2009 British Grand Prix and replace it with one from Valencia.
That means he needs to match his achievement of victory, pole and fastest lap from Silverstone last year if he is to stop Webber from closing in - a tall order indeed.
Webber's deficit to his team-mate means that if he beats Vettel by just one place in the European Grand Prix, he will have an excellent chance of overhauling him in the Castrol Rankings.
Even this may not be enough for the Australian though, as third place Lewis Hamilton has more to gain than either Red Bull driver.
The reason for that is that the McLaren man suffered a hideous 16th place result in the corresponding race last year and, following his Canadian win two weeks ago, is odds-on for a podium at the very least.
Just how high up the championship leader finishes relative to the Red Bulls will decide whether or not he can take the number one spot next week.
Another man looking vulnerable is Williams driver Rubens Barrichello, who has slipped form fourth to 13th in the Castrol Rankings since the start of the season and needs a podium at the very least to halt his slide temporarily.
With little chance of that, the Brazilian may find himself losing as many as three places as Nico Rosberg (14) and Robert Kubica (17) look to pounce.
Let's not forget Michael Schumacher either, as the seven-time World Champion has climbed up from 876th after the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix to 121st now.
A win at Valencia could take him as high as 67th, but a more likely top six result would still just allow him to crack into the top 100.
The Castrol Rankings is based on drivers' measurable performance over the last 12 months, including everything from their grid position to fastest laps. For further information on how the Castrol Rankings scores are calculated, click here.
