Speaking to Australian newspaper The Age, Webber looked ahead of next season saying: "If Alonso can get a good car from McLaren I don't think anyone will touch him again - he's the class in the field at the moment, there's no-one who can compete with him consistently."

"He's double world champion when Michael was still around which is a great feather in his cap and something which I know he's particularly rapt about. I think he will give them that lift actually. McLaren have been looking for a bit of direction for a while now and I think Fernando can give it to them."

But if Raikkonen can also start racing for the championship again has yet to be seen according to Webber. "Kimi is phenomenally quick, we know that. Whether he can take it to Fernando during the course of the season, it's going to be a good fight between those two," he said. "Renault will be strong, Kovalainen will be one of the finds of the season I think and Fisi could come out of his shell because he hasn't got Fernando there."