Despite watching his Formula 1 title rival win three races in a row and his championship lead reversed so that he now trails by 28 points, Sebastian Vettel remains convinced that he can win the title with six rounds remaining in the championship.
Speaking to Sport Bild, for the first time since his Singapore Grand Prix start-line crash, Vettel said, “There are enough GPs left to catch up. I take it from race to race and I strongly believe that we can still win it. So the setback must be put behind us. I will keep fighting.”
Vettel is not fazed by the fact that many pundits and fans have blamed him for the incident in Singapore that eliminated his Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and of course himself, which in turn allowed title rival Lewis Hamilton to cruise to victory and extend the points gap from three points before the race to 28 by the night’s end.
With regards to the criticism the German said, “I can live with that. It is always easy to form an opinion from the outside. In this case about about an incident that happened in the space of five seconds.”
“Basically, I try to always get the best out of a situation – and yes, without trying to mess up. But I am not a hamster who backs off and takes the points without a fight. I have never been that way.”
“But don’t misunderstand me, I am also not a junkie who does anything to get to the front. If there is a chance to make a stand or defend a place, you have to do it. That is my credo,” added the four times F1 World Champion.
Vettel has won the forthcoming Malaysian Grand Prix on four occasions, a fifth victory on Sunday is vital to keep his title hopes alive, “I believe we have a strong package and we are full of confidence.”
“Even if the results have been missing in the last three races and we lost the championship lead, my team still gives me hope. The car is fast and because there are a few things we have planned I believe in us,” concluded Vettel.
Big Question: Will Seb win the 2017 world championship?