Vettel names MP4-8 as favorite F1 car

Reigning triple World Champion Sebastian Vettel has listed his ten favorite cars in the history of Formula 1. Speaking to Germany's Sport Bild, the Red Bull driver placed the MP4-8, which yielded Ayrton Senna's final victory in 1993, at the top of his list.

Senna Donington 1993 in the MP4-8

1. McLaren MP4-8, 1993

"My absolute favorite car," said Vettel. "This was my first scale model. McLaren didn't have the best car that year, but Senna still managed to win five races." The late Brazilian won at Interlagos, Donington, Monte-Carlo, Suzuka and Adelaide, but finished second in the title race to Williams rival Alain Prost.

2. Red Bull RB6, 2010

"The ultimate weapon, the best car of the year. If we had not claimed the title, it would have been a massive disappointment for us." Vettel won his maiden title with a lights to flag victory at the Abu Dhabi season finale. He also became the youngest ever World Champion at 23 years and 134 days, moving ahead of Lewis Hamilton.

3. Red Bull RB7, 2011

"The car that I picked up my second world title with. The car was a true all-rounder; it had strong reliability and was fast at every circuit." Vettel finished on the podium at 17 of the 19 races in 2011. He secured 11 wins, five second place finishes and one third.

4. Brabham BT46B, 1978

"Lauda's car with a big fan at the back. After victory in Sweden, it was banned." The Brabham BT46B made its first and last appearance at the Swedish Grand Prix. Known as the 'fan car', it provoked plenty of paddock debate before the Federation Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA) deemed it to be illegal.

5. Lotus 72, 1970

"Beautiful but tragic. Jochen Rindt became World Champion with this car, but he also crashed during practice for the race at Monza." The Lotus 72 was used in different variations from 1970 to 1975, and claimed two Drivers' and three Constructors' titles. Aside from Rindt, Emerson Fittipaldi claimed individual honors with the car in 1972.

6. Ferrari F2002, 2002

"This Ferrari was an outright winner. Michael Schumacher seemed to be able to play games with the competition. No wonder he was already World Champion in France." The F2002 was introduced at the third race of the 2002 season and was used until the fourth round of the following campaign. From 19 races, the car secured 15 wins.

7. McLaren MP4-13, 1998

"This car raced when grooved tires were still being used, so I remember it well. It was a beautiful Adrian Newey design and it seemed to fit Mika Häkkinen like a glove." The Finn claimed eight race victories with the MP4-13 over the course of the 1998 campaign, culminating in the first of his two world titles.

8. Williams FW14, 1992

"Again a fantastic Newey car. Nigel Mansell was a dominant World Champion. I think the car had active suspension, it drove as if it was on rails." The Briton won nine races with the FW14, finishing 52 points clear of team-mate Riccardo Patrese (one victory).

9. Mercedes W196, 1954

"A legendary car, which marked Mercedes return to Grand Prix racing. Juan Manuel Fangio was naturally the World Champion that year." Fangio won six of the nine races in 1954, before claiming another title with the same car the following season.

10. Brabham BT52B, 1983

"This car gave BMW its last World Championship with Nelson Piquet. The car is said to have had more than 1,500bhp in qualifying, making it more of a rocket than a car. I would love to drive it." Piquet beat Alain Prost to the 1983 title by just two points. In the Constructors' standings, Brabham-BMW finished third behind Ferrari and Renault.