Webber is Vettel’s ’perfect number 2’ - Frentzen

A secret of Sebastian Vettel’s run of success is the "dream team" at Red Bull.

That is the claim of the 24-year-old German’s retired countryman and grand prix winner Heinz-Harald Frentzen.

The former Sauber and Williams driver told Welt newspaper: "As long as the team stays together, it will be very hard to beat. This is what we saw with Ferrari’s dream team.

"Frank Williams once said to me that it’s very difficult to put together a top team and even more difficult to hold it together."

Frentzen said Vettel has managed to establish himself as "the clear number one with the whole team around him".

He therefore thinks the extension of Mark Webber’s contract for 2012 was a clever move.

"In a perfect team the perfect number one needs a perfect number two, and that’s Mark Webber," said Frentzen.

"Finding the perfect number two is not easy and it’s better to have a number two than having two number one drivers, which can bring instability."

Jenson Button recently made similar comments about the desirability of a number two driver, insisting that the situation does not exist at McLaren.

"Having a competitive teammate is the most important thing for a driver in a top team because it does push you," he is quoted at Suzuka by The Sun.

"(But) having a whole team behind you is great. Knowing they are putting all their efforts just behind you is fantastic. I am sure that is how it feels for Fernando Alonso at Ferrari," added Button.

Also commenting on driver dynamics in F1 is Flavio Briatore, who famously always installed a clear number two for Michael Schumacher as well as Fernando Alonso.

Asked if he can imagine Vettel alongside Alonso, the Italian told Bild newspaper: "Never. That would be stupid.

"Those two should never be in the same team because they are both champions, but there can only be one champion (per season). And the fans want to see champions fighting against each other," said Briatore.