Red Bull doubts Sebastian Vettel will win 2013 F1 title in Japan
Red Bull is not expecting Sebastian Vettel to win his fourth Formula 1 world championship in this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix, even though it is mathematically possible
Vettel's fourth win in succession last weekend in Korea has put him on the brink of sealing another world title, and he can wrap things up at Suzuka if he wins the race and Fernando Alonso finishes ninth or lower.
But Red Bull team boss Christian Horner does not expect Alonso to finish low enough in Japan to allow Vettel to be crowned on Sunday.
"The likelihood of winning in Japan is extremely low," said Horner. "When does Fernando Alonso ever finish ninth?
"So long as we win it, I don't care where we win it."
Horner added that his team will not let up with its relentless form in the closing races of the season, even once the title is secured.
"We will push all the way to the end of this championship, right to the chequered flag in Brazil," he said.
"We cannot control what others do, but we can push ourselves, which is exactly what we will do.
"Seb is driving supremely well at the moment. The confidence he is carrying in the car, the discipline with which he is driving, is remarkable and he is on a great run at the moment."
Horner says that his team will be "blown away" when it captures a fourth consecutive drivers' and constructors' championship double this year.
"If we are to achieve it, of course it would be massive," he said.
"To win the first one was special. To defend it was remarkable, and to do a triple, I didn't think we could surpass that.
"So if we do manage to defend both titles, it is something that the whole team will be absolutely blown away by."
Japanese GP preview quotes: Lotus
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