Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner expects Mark Webber to start the 2012 season a much stronger competitor after finishing the 2010 season on a high by winning the final race in Brazil.

12942 - Horner expects Webber revival

Vettel pipped Webber for a closely contested title at the last race of the 2010 season but a supreme Vettel dominated the 2011 season whilst Webber could only manage third in the championship.

"It's very difficult going up against a driver of Sebastian's calibre, being matched and measured against somebody of his standard," said Horner at the Autosport International Show. "Mark had a difficult start to the year but he adapted and he worked hard at it and he worked hard to understand the tyres in particular. And his performances grew and grew throughout the year and it was great to see him win that final race in Brazil.

"He has gone away and trained hard through the winter and his enthusiasm has rejuvenated and I think 2012 could be a very strong year for Mark."

In Vettel and Webber, Horner believes his team have one of the strongest pairings on the grid and one that will propel Red Bull to further success in 2012.

"For us it is a great pairing, okay there is over a 10-year age difference between the two of them, so they are at different stages of their career, so they push each other very hard and they bring the best out of each other I think."