Vettel plays down Hamilton’s comments ahead of Italian GP

Sebastian Vettel isn’t

MONZA, ITALY biting.

Last week, Lewis Hamilton said in a trackside interview shortly after Vettel’s victory at the Belgian Grand Prix that Ferrari had a “few trick things going on in the car.” Hamilton later tried to distance himself from sounding suspicious or suggesting Ferrari infringed the rules in any way.

“I don’t know. You need to ask him, but I think he said in the press conference something with tricks, but I think he said many times he doesn’t want it to be interpreted in the wrong way and I think maybe it did,” Vettel said Thursday ahead of the Italian Grand Prix.

“I am not so sure, but for all of us in terms of is the (car) legal or not, the FIA is responsible for it and we have several checks throughout the weekend to prove that, so as long as I don’t hear anything from that front then I think it’s fine. Same for the others.”

Hamilton finished 12 seconds behind Vettel last week in second place, although that margin was made larger by the fact the Mercedes driver eased up in the closing laps because he knew he could not catch his rival and was saving the engine for races ahead.

“As I said, maybe it’s more of a question for him and for us it’s to keep our head down,” Vettel said.

Hamilton was not scheduled to be at Thursday’s traditional news conference, but was due to appear before the media at Mercedes’ hospitality area. However, the team announced in the morning the world champion would not be arriving at Monza until the evening because of an “unavoidable personal commitment.”

Both Hamilton and Vettel are chasing a fifth world title this year.

After trimming Hamilton’s overall lead to 17 points last weekend, Vettel is now focused on ending Ferrari’s eight-year wait for a win at the Italian GP, where he said the track “in many ways is similar to Spa,” the Belgian Grand Prix venue, and suited to the team.

The German driver has finished on the podium in Monza three times since moving to Ferrari, finishing runner-up to Hamilton in 2015 before two straight thirdplace finishes.

“The last podiums I had in the right colour were already quite amazing and obviously (a win) is definitely something I want to achieve doing here with Ferrari,” Vettel said. Ferrari last won its home grand prix in 2010 with Fernando Alonso driving.