Why having Kimi Raikkonen at Red Bull could end lingering doubts about Sebastian Vettel

In the immediate post-race glow of victory, Sebastian Vettel was asked about the idea of having as a team-mate the man he had just spent the last few laps fending off, Kimi Raikkonen.

If he was to be signed, the intrigue of how he might compare to Vettel would be intense. There is a small but insistent element within the F1 community - drivers included - that insists Vettel is merely a good driver in fantastic equipment. Ironically, Raikkonen's standing within the paddock is probably higher than Vettel's. This might be the very reason Vettel would relish being partnered with him. If he were to go up against someone of Kimi's standing and emerge on top, it would obliterate any doubts about his level. What he delivered at the Nurburgring on Sunday was a drive that ranks up with any from history. The Red Bull was simply not as fast in race conditions as the Lotus. It lacked the E21's slow-corner grip and fast-corner balance. If either Romain Grosjean or Raikkonen could have got past they would have pulled comfortably away. Obviously, the Red Bull was a quicker car in qualifying and still very good in the race, but keeping it in front of a car that needed just the smallest chink of daylight in his defences for the whole race was quite remarkable. The mental demands of that are extraordinarily high and he combines this with a natural qualifying pace that is devastating. The world might finally accept that in fullness if Kimi Raikkonen were to become a Red Bull driver in 2014. MH