Rest of career will show if Vettel great - Alonso

Fernando Alonso on Thursday added his slight to the debate about Sebastian Vettel’s greatness.

After Lewis Hamilton’s comments last week indicated a lack of respect for the soon-to-be four-time world champion, the 2008 world champion wrote on Twitter that Vettel is great "regardless of what you and I may think about his car".

Speaking at Suzuka, Alonso also gave mixed messages about what he really thinks about the dominant Red Bull driver’s success.

"He’s a fantastic driver and has a fantastic car," said the Ferrari driver.

"It’s true he has an advantage in car performance for this year so we’ll see how good he is later in his career," added Alonso.

Alonso also hinted that Vettel’s superiority this year could have been enhanced by the performance of the driver at the wheel of the other Red Bull.

Alonso, who is close friends with Mark Webber, said of the Australian: "He’s lost some of his motivation.

"He’s no longer enjoying himself so he decided to retire," he is quoted by La Gazzetta dello Sport.