I still believe in Ferrari - Vettel

Sebastian Vettel is still confident he can achieve his Ferrari dream and win the championship with the Italian squad. Vettel moved to the team for the start of the 2015 season, and took three victories throughout the year.

However he has since struggled and a torrid 2016 season left him frustrated and hot headed on the team radio multiple times. The team slipped behind Red Bull in a year they were expected to fight Mercedes for both titles.

"I am continuing to pursue my plan to become world champion with Ferrari," he told Die Welt newspaper. "I still believe I can and I still believe in them."

Vettel's father Norbert also thinks the Ferrari plan is still on track, saying: "When Seb is convinced of something, he fights for it like a lion. And if it doesn't work out, Sebastian believes even more in his goals. To give up is not him," he added.

Vettel continued and said that he joined Ferrari for the long term goal, and believes that Ferrari are on the right track for a return to success.

"I did not switch to Ferrari to become world champion as soon as possible," he insisted. "It was clear to me that success would not be automatic and that the goal would not be easy. The situation at Ferrari now is no big surprise to me. But when I look back on 2016, I am convinced that Ferrari and I are on the right track. The team is now much more developed than many people believe. That is why I am convinced that we will achieve the goals that we set for ourselves."

As for whether that goal is achievable in 2017, Vettel answered: "That is always the question to which no one has an answer. But we have learned a lot of lessons in the past that will make us much stronger in the future. The gap to Mercedes become smaller in 2016, but it is also true that the season did not go smoothly for Ferrari.

"What annoys me is that the results are not correctly interpreted. The criticism is not justified. Ferrari has made very large progress, considering that we are fighting against teams that did not have to make such fundamental internal changes," he added.

Fergal Walsh