“We need to be lucky and we need for Sebastian to have some DNFs (did not
finish) or something to win the championship.
“With the races left and points disadvantage it’s going to be hard, but in a
way it was exactly the same last year.
“We could only lose the championship, with a 41-point advantage in front of
Sebastian after the Monza race.
“It was difficult for him to catch up, and so it was maybe up to us, but we
didn’t complete the job. We had a DNF in Suzuka (Japan) and some other
problems.
“There’s still a long way to go, and we will try until the last race to be as
good as we can and score as many points as possible.
“Then in Brazil we will see how many points we have compared to him.”
From Vettel’s perspective, he again insisted he was “trying not to think about
it (the title) too much”.
Instead, the only situation he has to contend with these days is the booing
from fans who are becoming frustrated with his continued success.
In beating Alonso, the jeers from the Ferrari fans were no surprise, and he
took them in his stride.
“I had an experience in 2008 which blew me away completely when I won here
with an Italian team (Toro Rosso) with a Ferrari engine, so the atmosphere
was fantastic,” Vettel said.
“When I won here again in 2011 (with Red Bull) that (the booing) was a
surprise, but this year it was expected.
“I said on the radio on the in-lap ‘the more booing we get, the better we have
done’, so it’s normal.
“I don’t blame the people. Their love of Ferrari is in their genes. It’s
something very special.
“Obviously Fernando is in a great position on the podium, whereas if you’re
dressed in any other colour it’s not the same.”
When it came to Vettel’s other title rivals, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton was
ninth and Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen 11th, with the duo now 81 and 88 points
adrift respectively.
Jenson Button was 10th in his McLaren, with Marussia’s Max Chilton 19th for
Marussia, whilst Paul Di Resta crashed out at the first chicane in his Force
India after running into Lotus’ Romain Grosjean.
Edited by Thom Gibbs