Sebastian Vettel will be stronger than ever this year according to Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz who believes the defending champion has improved since last year. The 24-year old will go into the new season looking to claim his third consecutive world championship and put himself firmly in the record books despite racing betting odds.

With pre-season testing still yet to give any clear indication of what kind of year we’re in for, there will be plenty who believe both Red Bull and Vettel will once again be too strong for their rivals. The German sauntered to a defence of his title last year, winning the championship by over 100 points to his nearest rival and becoming the youngest ever double world champion.

Mateschitz has made it clear he believes his number one driver will once again be the man to catch, admitting he feels Vettel could be even better this year than he was during last season.

“He still has great potential ahead of him because his experience, his consistency and his domination in different situations will be given free rein.”

“His focus in qualifying was already part of his strength but he’s going to be even stronger in competition because he knows the complexity of his sport even better now.”

Red Bull’s rivals will be determined to make this year a much more competitive affair and the German team, and those indulging in online bets, will be well aware of what they need to do to hang onto their titles. McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes and possibly even Lotus will all be using these final few weeks of testing to make sure they go into the new season in the best possible shape.

Former world champion Kimi Raikkonen made his return behind a Formula One wheel this week as he begun some pre-season training with his new Lotus team. The Finn was quick to insist he was having no problem re-adapting to the stresses and strains that come with being in an F1 car, despite having been away from the sport for two years.

Raikkonen was also eager to point out that he hadn’t yet set himself any targets for the upcoming season – with the opening Grand Prix of the season still over a month away. That may change before the year gets under way in Melbourne, but for now the Finn is just focused on trying to get both himself and the car in the best possible shape before that point.

“We try to do as well as we can of course in every race, but it’s very difficult to say.”

“We have to see how the car is in the testing and go from there.”

“Hopefully we can have a good car to challenge in front and that would be nice, but if not we try to improve it and go to the front.”

The 2007 world champion has not seen many F1 bets  fall in his favour, mainly because isn’t expected to be given a car capable of genuinely challenging the front-runners when the season gets under way, however, punters who want to bet on F1 2012  should remember that Lotus have secured a driver who is as good as any at getting the best out of whatever he is driving.

It will be fascinating to see just how easily Raikkonen finds returning to the sport after his two years away from F1 – albeit a two-year spell that saw the 32-year old race anything he could get his Scandinavian hands on.

Lewis Hamilton will have to overcome plenty of challenges if he is going to challenge for this year’s world championship, perhaps the biggest of all being himself. While Sebastian Vettel made it back-to-back world titles, many still view Hamilton as being Formula One’s most naturally gifted driver.

2012 will be a year in which the Englishman will be looking to prove that opinion is right and put an end to both Red Bull and Vettel’s dominance. The fact Red Bull have been so good has taken some shine off the German’s achievements, in some eyes – although, Vettel will be more focused on winning races than he is about opinions. Those looking at the in-play betting should bear this in mind.

One of those who believes Hamilton is the better driver, is his former McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso. They may not have been much love lost between the two during their time in the same team, however, the Spaniard has revealed he views Hamilton as the more talented of the two.

“I consider Hamilton to be a very quick driver, aggressive and totally focused. All he’s interested in is winning. Nothing else. A really talented driver,” he said.

“In my opinion Sebastian hasn’t quite got to that level year. I know that he is a double world champion, but that is the way it is. For me, he’s just slightly below Lewis’s standard.”

The McLaren driver had a year to forget last season; finishing fifth in the drivers’ championship amid a series of on and off track issues. Hamilton did end the year off in a positive fashion, claiming the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi to send him into the close-season with something positive to use as motivation. Fans of mobile betting should bear this in mind.

While many will see Vettel as the front-runner, again, to be the dominant force when the new season gets under way, however, that could well work in Hamilton’s favour, allowing him to go about his business in relative peace.

Out of all the drivers in Formula One, there can’t be many who will be as desperate to get the new season underway as Williams’ Pastor Maldonado. The Venezuelan finished the end of the 2011 campaign with the worst record of any Williams driver in their debut season – picking up just a solitary point after his 10th place finish in Belgium – and those looking to bet on F1 2012  need more convincing about his prospects.

With Rubans Barrichello collecting just four of his own points throughout 2011, the Williams team ended their worst-ever season way down in ninth in the constructors championship.

The disappointing season saw the team make a number of behind the scenes changes to their technical department, and Maldonado could have counted himself pretty lucky to have secured his seat for the new season – although that could have something to do with all that delicious Venezuelan money Williams reportedly earn from having the South American behind the wheel.

That said, the question as to how good Maldonado actually is will be better judged when he is given a car capable of challenging – something that was rarely afforded both Williams drivers throughout the year. The latest F1 bets suggest he may struggle yet again to turn things around, but the 26-year old has made it clear he is confident that Williams can turn things around when the new season gets underway.

“I trust the team because it is impossible to be worse than this year.”

“I’m sure we will improve, we have worked hard to grow as a team. I hope we have a better car, one that is more competitive so that we can always fight for points and higher positions.”

Torro Rosso have maintained their focus on bringing through youth after announcing Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne as their two drivers for the 2012 season. The duo replace the unfortunate Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari, who left the team at the end of last season, despite decent campaigns. The changes mean Torro Rosso now going into the new season with an all-new line-up for the first time since their debut year in 2006.

22-year old Ricciardo has been impressive since breaking through into Formula One, acting as a test and reserve driver for Red Bull before finishing the season racing with HRT. The young Aussie had been linked with a number of teams since the end of the season, but has now ended all speculation by committing himself to Torro Rosso. Anyone wanting to bet on F1 2012 should remember this.

Ricciardo will be the more experienced of the two new drivers, with 21-year old Vergne starting the season as a genuine rookie while his Aussie team-mate has 11 races under his belt. The Frenchman has acted as a test driver for both Red Bull and Torro Rosso, impressing enough to convince the team to give him a chance at the big time.  People placing F1 bets should bear this in mind.

Team principal Franz Tost admitted the team’s focus on giving young drivers the chance to race in Formula One had been a major factor behind the new look line-up for the new season.

“One has to remember that when Toro Rosso was established in 2005, it was done so with the intention of providing a first step into Formula 1 for the youngsters in the Red Bull junior driver programme.”

“It is therefore part of the team’s culture to change its driver line-up from time to time in order to achieve this goal.”