Sebastian Vettel denies F1 quit rumours amid his Ferrari 'mission'

Sebastian Vettel has reacted with surprise to rumours suggesting he is considering retiring from Formula 1 at the end of this season.

The four-time world champion, who turns 32 next month, is contracted to Ferrari until the end of 2020 but his short-term future was the subject of speculation after Monaco.

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"I never said anything like it, so I don't know where they come from," said Vettel ahead of this weekend's Canadian GP.

"I think I can stop whenever I want, and the team can probably kick me out whenever they want, but I'm very happy with the team and I hope the team is happy with myself.

"I'm very hungry and I have a mission here to win. That's really the only thing that matters to me, winning with Ferrari, and that's what I'm working for.

"Currently we're not winning, you can do the maths, so we still have something to do."

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Ferrari enter 'crucial' summer races
Vettel's hopes of delivering Ferrari their first world title in more than a decade in his fifth season at Maranello are currently fading by the race in the wake of Mercedes' unbeaten start to 2019.

Perennial rival Lewis Hamilton has won four of those events and is already 55 points ahead of third-placed Vettel.

• F1 2019 hits summer overdrive

Ahead of a run of six races in nine weeks, Vettel acknowledges Ferrari's championship prospects are already approaching crunch time.

"The next races will be really crucial for us trying to get back to the front and give a much harder time to Mercedes," admitted Vettel.

"Once we can establish that, then we have plenty of reason to look forward. It will be crucial to do it sooner rather than later, but at the moment I'm not too fussed at looking at 'this is the date it has to happen'.

When's the Canadian GP on Sky?

When, where and how to watch the Canadian GP from Montreal live only on Sky Sports F1 as Hamilton bids to extend his title lead.

"Clearly we are behind, clearly there is quite a big margin between Mercedes and the rest, Mercedes and also ourselves, so we have to close that gap and get ahead, otherwise it will be difficult to turn it around."

Vettel added: "I don't think you need to be a genius: before the summer break we need to be in very, very good shape to then use that momentum for the second half to turn it around."

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