Red Bull oligarch Dietrich Mateschitz believes that double world champion Sebastian Vettel is better prepared than he has ever been heading into the 2012 Formula One season, saying that the German is "stronger than ever".
Vettel became the youngest-ever double world champion in 2011, as Red Bull Racing enjoyed a supremely dominant campaign.
For 2012, Vettel will be seeking to become only the third F1 driver in history to take three titles in a row, following in the footsteps of Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher.
And while Red Bull's rivals are all pushing to close down the gap to Vettel in 2012, Mateschitz has said that he feels the German has prepared better than ever before for this season.
"Sebastian has improved and is stronger than ever," Mateschitz gushed to the Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper on Friday, possibly while stroking a photo of Vettel.
"He has prepared during the winter break like he's never done before and he will certainly not let us down."
He added: "What he needs for his third title is a competitive car and on that aspect we'll be able to evaluate where the teams are going in the first tests in Jerez."
The new RB8, which will be launched the day before the first test of the season begins on February 7th, will be the latest Adrian Newey-designed car for the Red Bull squad.
Newey's RB7 design was streets ahead of its rivals in 2011, winning 12 races and securing all but one pole position.
But Mateschitz insisted that he was still aware of the team's rivals, and asked to rank them in order of danger, he added: "McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes. I think in this order."
The Austrian businessman also suggested that he was aiming to see the team attain 'legendary' status in the sport, despite their relatively short period on the grid.
"Ferrari has become a legend through victories and titles," he mused, "How many titles are needed for that isn't so important: what counts now is the hat trick in 2012."
Mateschitz has bankrolled the Red Bull Racing squad since they joined the sport in 2005, seeing the team secure back-to-back drivers and constructors championships in 2010 and 2011.
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