Webber: Four teams, eight drivers but it won't last

Mark Webber reckons that while eight drivers may be in the title fight at the start of the season, it won't take long before the numbers start to dwindle.

This year's Championship promises to be tightly contested with as many as eight drivers fighting for the World title as last year's top two take on F1's traditional powerhouses.

With pre-season testing hinting that both Ferrari and McLaren are back on form, Mercedes GP and Red Bull look set to have a tough fight for title glory.

However, it's not just the battle between the teams that should excite - there are also the intra-team tussles.

Jenson Button is up against Lewis Hamilton at McLaren, Michael Schumacher faces Nico Rosberg for Germany supremacy, Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa will be out to see who is Ferrari's top dog while Webber himself is out to prove Sebastian Vettel is not the better of the Red Bull racers.

And that's intra-team battle that could see some fall by the wayside as their team-mates emerge as the stronger force.

"I don't think that it will be eight. It will become a bit less than that quite quickly," Webber told the official F1 website.

"Sure there are some very strong teams this year, but by halfway through the season I don't think that you will have eight people in contention for the Championship. There will be less.

"Of course both of us are in it - that's my personal opinion.

"We all have it in our heads that Michael Schumacher is with the Championship-winning team, and they are of course looking to win the Championship again.

"McLaren have two World Champions, Red Bull was very strong last year and got a lot of points, Fernando (Alonso) is with Ferrari and Felipe Massa is also doing very well.

"That's what everybody is thinking - that you've got these four teams who will decide the Championship amongst them, but as always we will have some dark horses who will pop up here and there.

"Those drivers I just mentioned are just the logical candidates you might think of."

Source: Webber: Four teams, eight drivers but it won't last - Planet-F1 News from planet-f1.com