"We will try to beat Mercedes and knock them off their throne to give them a taste for next year."
Tuesday 4 December 2018 14:40, UK
Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari have vowed not to give up on the 2018 season as the Scuderia continue to strive to beat Mercedes to the Constructors' Championship.
Although Lewis Hamilton has wrapped up the Drivers' Championship with two races to go, the teams' title is still being contested by Ferrari and Mercedes.
With a possible 86 points still to play for, Mercedes currently lead Ferrari by 55 heading to Brazil and the season-concluding Abu Dhabi GP.
"This is not a very happy day for me, but one thing is being down and another is not being able to get back up, and I know that in two weeks I will be back up and try my best to finish the season well and fight for the Constructors' Championship," said Vettel following Hamilton's title win in Mexico.
The German added: "I think it's normal as well to have that moment of disappointment and that you are a bit down but I think I will be as strong as I can be in two weeks' time heading to Brazil. Because that's what my team deserves and that's what all the guys at home in Maranello deserve and all on top all the people that have supported me, Kimi, myself and the whole team, all the tifosi all year.
"Maybe for now I'm not the happiest guy, but in two weeks' time I'm allowed to step into the car that I always dreamt of driving, so plenty of things to be happy about."
Hamilton vs Vettel: Turning points
Ferrari's determination to continue the fight is understandable: the team, the most famous in the sport, last won an F1 title in 2008. The unthinkable, a full decade without a championship, is becoming front of mind.
"There are still a lot of lessons to learn, and we need to make sure we make the right conclusions," Vettel continued to Sky F1. "We are a very talented and gifted team, we have the most support behind us, we have huge potential - of which some still needs to be unleashed.
"But we will try to beat Mercedes in the Constructors' Championship and knock them off their throne to give them a taste for next year."
While the odds - and the points - are stacked in Mercedes' favour, the team's recent slump in form has offered Ferrari a glimmer of hope.
"The Constructors' Championship is still undecided and the team has closed the points gap over the past two races," said Scuderia boss Maurizio Arrivabene prior to leaving Mexico. "We are therefore determined to fight all the way to the finish, starting with the next GP in Brazil."
From Mercedes' perspective, the concern ahead of the Brazilian GP is that they fell behind both Ferrari and Red Bull in Mexico, critically hampered by a struggle to prolong tyre life.
"The job is not done yet," warned Mercedes chief Toto Wolff. "There's a Constructors' Championship out there that we still want to win and that won't be easy."
Technical chief James Allison said Mercedes had endured "quite a whipping" in Mexico and admitted his alarm.
"We don't want to limp across the line with performances like we delivered today, we want to come back firing on all cylinders in Brazil and win it from the front in a fitting manner," he said. "So all our focus now turns to that and we're looking forward to having a stronger day on Sunday in Brazil."
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