Red Bull team boss Christian Horner believes Sebastian Vettel will thrive under the 2009 rules as his intellect will allow him to cope better with drivers' new tasks than some rivals.

The radical technical regulation changes for this season include front wings that can be adjusted from the cockpit to aid overtaking, and Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems that must also be operated by the drivers.

Horner thinks Vettel, who has joined Red Bull Racing after becoming Formula 1's youngest-ever winner with Toro Rosso, will be ideally suited to the challenges the new rules present.

"Now we have a driver at the start of his career who, from what I’ve seen, has a tremendous amount of spare capacity when he’s driving the car on the edge, on the absolute limit," said Horner in an interview with Motor Sport magazine.

"Exceptional drivers tend to have this quality.

"And he’s a bright young man, which will be invaluable when it comes to all the complications of the new cars.

"The drivers will be busy this year, understanding the way KERS works, the way KERS will interact with the braking systems, the adjustable wings and the way the slick tyres can be used – all this means that things augur well for Sebastian.

"This year the drivers will have a greater input, and they will have to do the right things at the right time.

"There’s a lot more going on in the car and they will have to be on top of it all.

"The more intelligent driver will win through; that’s always been the case, and in some ways we’re going back to the days when the driver played a bigger role.

"Sebastian will only get better and stronger – he’s still very young, and this will be an interesting stage of his career."

Horner added that he had no concerns about any rivalry between the incoming Vettel and established Red Bull driver Mark Webber.

"Mark is a great competitor, a true sportsman, and they’ve known each other through the Red Bull ‘family’ over the last 18 months so they have a good rapport," said Horner.

"They work collectively for the team, they have respect for each other, but clearly they will be measuring themselves against each other’s performances.

"I don’t see there being any issues."

source[www.itv-f1.com]

 

I'm really looking forward to seeing what Sebastien Vettel can do this year. I have tremendous faith in his abilities and I think he'll continue to grow into a star! He WILL have a WDC in his hands in the next 5 years.