After two near impeccable performances from Mark Webber in the dominant Red Bull, the question is already being asked. Can anyone beat him to the title? It’s obviously far too early to answer that definitively, but barring major gains by the other front running teams; McLaren, Ferrari, and to a lesser extent Mercedes, Webber is the guy to beat. Of course, as we are talking about Red Bull here, it is entirely possible that Webber’s car spontaneously combusts at the first corner of every second race, which wouldn’t help his championship designs very much at all.

You may have noticed that I haven’t included Webber’s young teammate in the list of possible challengers to Webber, and the reason is simple. His spirit seems gone, and that was always his strongest attribute. So sure, he’s equal on points with Webber, but there are problems with Vettel right now, not insurmountable problems, but troubling nonetheless. And I don’t blame him; his team sold him a dummy and sent him down the river with a broken paddle. After Webber’s Monaco victory, he is leading with 78 points. Here is the indisputable fact though, had Red Bull not been mucking about, Vettel would have been on 75 after the first three races. Then combine that with his consistent if not spectacular performances since, he’d be on 100 plus easily. The fact that he isn’t way out in front though seems to have blunted his initial bulletproof pace, and one can tell he isn’t driving with the exuberance now that he was. His exuberance was what made him the fastest man on the grid, in the initial rounds at least, he was the fastest because he pushed the hardest. He isn’t pushing like he was anymore. But then why should he, when he does, the team doesn’t provide a package that can make it all the way to the chequered flag. So why bother? At least that seems to be the manner in which Vettel is driving at the moment, he’s still quick, but he’s lost the edge that he had.

Schumacher with Schumacher MKII Vettel

And if I’m right, that Red Bull is not the place for Vettel right now, he is well and truly buggered. Presuming that Webber extends his contract with Red Bull, which is highly likely at this point, Vettel has nowhere to go. The only possibility would be Massa’s seat, but if that drive is indeed open, Kubica is the best bet to take it. So Vettel is stuck at Red Bull, a team who whilst providing him with an incredibly quick car, also provide him with endless frustration. And handling frustration well is not something Vettel seems to do very effectively.

The 'old' Vettel going on to win in Malaysia

Speaking of Kubica, isn’t it great to have him back to his old form. He made his name during the 2008 season as he was the most consistently quick driver the whole year considering the development problems at BMW that year. But last year, he went off the boil, yes the BMW was slow, but he didn’t out drive the car. Now, again, he’s back to out driving the car, and getting the results as just reward. Surely, next year one of two things must happen for Kubica; either Renault continues their slow but steady resurgence to the top of the grid, or he goes to Ferrari. F1 needs Kubica in a competitive car, just like it needs Alonso in a competitive car. The sport didn’t benefit with one of if not the best driver languishing mid to lower field for several seasons. And Kubica is showing that he is of similar class.