Dr Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s outspoken driver manager, has scoffed at the paddock’s depiction of Fernando Alonso as the great title underdog.
The Austrian admitted to Auto Bild Motorsport that he has taken exception to Spaniard Alonso’s repeated depiction of a David versus Goliath-style struggle against championship favourite Sebastian Vettel’s vastly superior Red Bull.
"Who had the best car at Hockenheim?" Marko asked rhetorically.
"The Ferrari is not as bad as everyone says it is.
"Maybe Fernando has not always had the fastest car, but he has certainly had a very good one throughout the season.
"If he (Alonso) says he is fighting with blunt weapons, then I think he really is whining on a very high level," insisted Marko.
McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, however, said German Vettel has been "lucky" to have a top car in the last few seasons, delivering him two so far and almost now three consecutive drivers’ titles.
Briton Hamilton on the other hand thinks he would have "absolutely" won more titles at McLaren, had his car been on Red Bull’s level.
"I was lucky to get into F1 with a great car," Hamilton is quoted by Brazil’s Totalrace.
"But while I was unlucky that it didn’t stay the same, he was lucky that it did," he added.