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Grapevine: Castrol Rankings: Vettel may lose #1

Sebastian Vettel stands a great chance of losing his number one status in the Castrol Rankings at this weekend's European Grand Prix at Valencia

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 controversy of the Vettel-Webber collision while fighting for victory in the recent Turkish Grand Prix forgotten, both drivers (and the team) are promising a fair fight for the rest of the season.

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 be virtually certain to overhaul him in the Castrol Rankings.

Even this may not be enough for the Australian though, as third placed 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.

To view the full Castrol Rankings and check out Murray Walker's European Grand Prix vodcast, go to www.castroldriverrankings.com.

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