Vettel: We are still after Lew
SEBASTIAN VETTEL has warned Formula One world championship leader Lewis Hamilton the title is still in his sights.
Vettel trails the British ace by 30 points going into Sunday’s floodlit Singapore Grand Prix, a track reckoned to favour his Ferrari racer over Hamilton’s Mercedes.
But the same was supposed to be true last time out at Monza, when Hamilton won the Italian Grand Prix after the German clipped him early in the race to wreck his own chances.
That has been the story of Vettel’s season – high-profile errors in Azerbaijan, France, Italy and when leading his own German Grand Prix having cost him a massive 60 points.
But he has won in Singapore four times to Hamilton’s three and, with seven races left, believes he can beat Hamilton to a fifth world crown.
“I think my biggest enemy is me,” he said yesterday. “We have a great car and the chance to do it in our way.
“Obviously, Lewis is the leader but I feel it is still ours to lose. As long as we look after ourselves we have a chance to win races and if we do, then things look good.”
But Hamilton has no plans to drive defensively to keep Vettel at bay knowing he is not the one under pressure.
“I’ve not really thought about driving defensively, at the moment,” he said.
“There are a lot of points still available so the approach is exactly the same as it has been all year long.
“It seems to be working, so we’ll just keep that up for as long as we can but we do expect there are going to be some difficult races ahead.
“Obviously Ferrari have been ahead of us the past few races, so keeping up with them, if not passing them, will be tough.”