Fernando Alonso admits that Sebastian Vettel has been simply "too good" for his rivals this year as he closes in on the world championship.
German Vettel heads into this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix with a 77-point lead over the Ferrari man in the standings and could clinch the title in Suzuka.
Victory would give him a fourth successive drivers' championship crown, and Alonso concedes that the Red Bull driver has been unstoppable--although he believes that a true judgement on Vettel's dominance will only come later in his career.
"He has been close to perfection, all these years and winning the championships," said Alonso.
"It is true that he had an advantage in car performance all these years, so we see how good he is later in his career because, at the moment, he is better than anyone and he is winning all the championships.
"But we saw also (Lewis) Hamilton starting in his first year nearly winning the championship, and in his second year winning the championship. But then he didn't win any more.
"Sometimes you have the car to do it, sometimes not.
"At the moment Red Bull and Vettel are a very good combination and too good for us."