Vettel says there is "no problem" despite delay and expects talks over summer; Championship leader confident ahead of Hungarian GP - "the determination is high to make sure we stay at the front."
Thursday 3 August 2017 21:01, UK
Sebastian Vettel says he is in no rush to sign a new Ferrari contract but insists there is "nothing wrong" and expects to stay with the team beyond 2017.
The four-time world champion's current deal expires at the end of the season and, despite Ferrari's claims that a contract is on the table whenever he wants to renew, an agreement has yet to be reached.
That delay has led to speculation about Vettel's future, with a move to Mercedes linked, while Red Bull boss Christian Horner claimed the German "holds the key for the driver market".
But championship leader Vettel has moved to clarify his situation and says more Ferrari talks will take place over the summer break following this weekend's Hungarian GP.
"We have other things to do," Vettel said in Thursday's drivers' press conference. "In the summer there's a bit more time, there's a couple of weeks rest where there's no race but for now, focus is extremely high on working on the car.
"A piece of paper can be signed fairly quickly so that's not a problem."
And asked if he wanted to stay with the team for the 2018 campaign, Vettel added: "I don't see why not.
"I'm certainly not ready this weekend, but I'm not in a rush, I don't think the team is in a rush as far as I understand. I think they would tell me otherwise. There's no problem, nothing wrong."
But while the 30-year-old claims their relationship behind the scenes is strong, both he and Ferrari have been struggling on-track of late. Vettel's Monaco GP victory is the team's only win from the last seven races.
That dip in form, and a seventh-placed finish in Silverstone two weeks ago, has allowed Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton to gather momentum - with the Briton now just one point behind his title rival in the standings.
Vettel, however, says he arrives at the Hungaroring in a "very positive" mood and expects upgrades on the Scuderia's car to help their cause this weekend.
"You have a lot of races - some will be better, some will be worse," he added. "The last couple have not been fantastic but I'm very positive.
"We come here and we know the car is strong, we know we have a chance to fight for victory. That's good news so I think we should look at the positives rather than at one race where things didn't go well for us and turned out well for Mercedes.
"You shouldn't get distracted by any short-term results. Rest assured, we weren't happy with Silverstone but it was a good weekend for us in terms of what we learned about the car to go forward.
"In fact, I think we have some bits here that should help us and the plan is to keep pushing. The determination and commitment is very high to make sure we stay at the front."
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