Sebastian Vettel says his and Ferrari’s mission remains on track despite his struggles in 2019.
The German has come under increasing pressure over the past year after a number of mistakes, the first of which saw him crash out while leading at Hockenheim 12 months ago.
It has also led to questions as to whether the four-time world champion can cope with the expectations of racing for the Scuderia, but ahead of his home race, Vettel brushed off those claims.
“It doesn’t feel like a burden it feels like a privilege to go out and race for Ferrari,” he said in Thursday’s press conference.
“My mission, as well as the team’s goal, is to get back to winning ways and if we do that we have a much better chance to fight for the championship.
“Having said that, I think from when I joined and where we are now, obviously this year hasn’t gone the way we wanted after the last two years,” Vettel conceded.
“But still I think things are progressing in the right direction in the big picture, but naturally the big picture doesn’t interest you if you are not where you would like to be.
“I think we all know Formula 1 is a world where everyone is short-sighted, which is also fair and part of the game, but overall even if things look good we miss that final step and that’s the most important step.”
What is becoming critical is whether Vettel can still produce the goods to challenge for the championship again and whether Ferrari also believes he can do so.
But the 32-year-old insists there is no-one more critical on his performance than himself.
“I always put myself under pressure so obviously I can’t be happy if things go wrong,” he explained.
“I think some of the things were bigger than others, but I think the main thing is that we keep progressing in the right way, but for sure if I do something wrong I can’t be happy with that and I think the pressure I put on myself after is bigger than any external factors.
“I think the most honest and straightforward way is to deal with it myself because I know what I have done wrong and what I have done right and I know when I have the opportunity to do well or not,” he added.
“You are always your best judge of what you do, those are the rules by which I play.”
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There has been speculation that Vettel is considering his future in F1, but the man himself insists he has no plans to leave right now.
“I don’t know how long I am going to be here but I love racing, I think these are the fastest cars there are,” he said.
“The joy that I get from driving is like it’s ever been and the motivation is high to get the job done with Ferrari.
“So I guess those are the two things dictating whether I will be around for long or not.”