Vettel: We still lack the very last step but we can fix it

In the wake of magnanimously congratulating Lewis Hamilton immediately after the Mercedes driver clinched this year's title in Mexico last time out, Vettel opened up to Formel1.de on his season.

Reflecting on the three years since he joined the Scuderia, Vettel said, "I think we've made tremendous improvements across the board, my job is to drive the car - I'm not responsible for vehicle design or team structure, that's not my job. "

"But as part of the team and as an observer, I think we can say that the team has made huge strides, we have very good people, talented, smart people, who come up with different solutions, ideas, concepts all the ingredients together. What we still lack is the very last step but I'm pretty sure we can fix it."

A season that promised much for the Reds petered out as mistakes plagued the team and their star driver, the Monza fumble triggered a united attack by the Italian media on Maranello, with Vettel a target of much of the bombardment.

The criticism levelled at him Vettel repeated what he has said many times before, "I do not read much, my but credo has always been: You're not as good as they say when they praise you, and not as bad as they say when they criticise you."

"This works well for me, passion can be a good thing, because these people love this sport, and then there are others who are more critical, but that's part of it. If someone criticises you, sometimes he's a little bit right, not always 100 percent. Therefore, you have to look more from the distance and not be offended by what they write."

The obvious question: Is a Ferrari driver under more pressure than his rivals in other teams?

"Earlier we talked about passion," continued Vettel. "I think you should not just see that in a negative way, do you understand what I mean. Of course, you can complain that there is too much pressure and too much expectation, but it also gives you extra strength."

"Italians love Ferrari, so if you know that a whole nation is behind you and if we don't deliver, they're obviously disappointed, that's the way it is. But we're a big team and we're strong so we should focus on the positive aspects of that."

Vettel started his career with Red Bull and scored his four F1 world championship titles with the energy drinks outfit - one a relative startup team formed as a marketing tool for a two euro fizzy drink and the other a legendary sports car manufacturer with an illustrious history in the sport.

When asked to compare his role in the two organisations he has driven for, he said, "On paper for both, my job is to drive the car but of course the circumstances in which I joined the teams were completely different."

"I went to Red Bull when I was young and did not have any idea how things worked, I had to prove myself and we grew together. I came to Ferrari as an adult but I'm not here to help them grow, they grew up long before I was born."

"But when I came here, Ferrari was not at the top and the goal is still to get back to the top. We're getting closer and closer, I'm confident we'll achieve it," predicted Vettel who now, together with teammate Kimi Raikkonen, can still cause an upset in the constructors' championship if they overturn a 50 points deficit to Mercedes in the remaining two races.