Sebastian Vettel is remaining unfazed despite losing the championship lead to main rival Lewis Hamilton for the first time this year after a disappointing Italian Grand Prix.

The German now sits three points behind in second as he and Ferrari had no response to the pace of the Mercedes at Monza as Hamilton and teammate Valtteri Bottas claimed a 1-2 by over half a minute. 

The result left the Scuderia with a bloody nose after their home race, President Sergio Marchionne described their performance as embarrassing and Mercedes Motorsport boss Toto Wolff even suggested they had taken a step backwards, but four-time champion Vettel is sure the poor weekend was just a blip. 

"We have a very strong car - very strong," he told Italy's La Repubblica. "We will have a great season finale, I'm sure of that."

Explaining why the race did prove so difficult, he claimed: "Since the start, I did not feel the car and in the last 20 laps I struggled a lot.

"It was just a bad race. I'm not worried about the future - I'm optimistic. In spite of the numbers and the odds, the championship is still very long and we will not disappoint the people who want us to do well."

The next three races are expected to be more preferential towards Ferrari with downforce crucial at Suzuka and Singapore and the high temperatures expected both in Marina Bay and Sepang also benefiting the Maranello outfit.

Though most races have gone to the form book so far, Vettel wouldn't comment on whether that was a positive for him, insisting: "Things on paper do not interest me. As well as what is on paper, there is the extra element of competition that makes a difference.

"In short, the more difficult it is, the more fun it is. In sports, the easy things are boring."

And as for the championship battle and now being in the position of chaser rather than chased, Sebastian, who has won every championship he has led at some point in the year, made it clear nothing has changed in his mindset.

“Leading the championship is not important as much as winning the championship, it’s where you are at the last race that counts. It is clear where we want to go, what we want to achieve,” he claimed.