Double world champion Sebastian Vettel has insisted that he and his dominant Red Bull team are not guaranteed success in 2012, saying that they needed to work hard to make sure that they were in a position to compete.
Vettel and the Red Bull squad enjoyed a ludicrously successful time in 2011, with the German securing back-to-back titles with 11 wins and 15 pole positions throughout the season.
Many pundits have predicted more domination for the RBR/Vettel pairing in 2012, given their performance advantage in 2011 and the relative lack of technical changes.
But Vettel believes that the team still has work to do to make sure that they begin the 2012 season with a chance of more success.
"We will try [to win another title]," Vettel told the French Auto Hebdo publication this week when asked for his thoughts on 2012.
"But the beauty of this sport is that before a new season, all the points counters are reset."
He went on: "It is up to Red Bull to build a competitive chassis and Renault to produce a powerful and reliable engine.
"There is no certainty, nothing is sure about [our success] continuing."
Meanwhile, the team's car designing ace Adrian Newey has suggested that there were still areas for Red Bull to improve on for 2012, and increase their level of performance.
"We still had some areas that could be improved upon, but as always it is going to be the development race through the winter," he muttered to the Autosport website.
"We have got some regulation changes - primarily the restriction of exhaust exit position and mapping - which means that the exhaust effect is almost zero now.
"So, everybody will be working to try and recover that lost downforce, and whoever comes up with the best solutions will probably be the winners next year."
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