Vettel clinging on to slim Drivers Championship title hopes

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel is clinging to his Formula 1 title dreams afer a retirement in the Japan GP at Suzuka.

A spark-plug issue ended the German’s challenge after just four laps, while Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton went on to win the race, meaning Vettel now lies 59 points behind the title-charge leading Briton with just 100 points left at stake.  

To come back and secure the title from this position would be nothing short of sensational and looks highly unlikely at this juncture. However, Vettel is adamant the battle for supremacy is not over yet.

"It's normal to be critical especially if things go wrong. But I think I need to protect them [the team]," Vettel said. 

"It's like that sometimes of course, it hurts, and we are all disappointed but the best is to get back, get some rest and go flat out for the last four races and see what happens.

"We still have a chance this year it depends what happens in the next races."

Vettel also highlighted how much Ferrari had progressed since 2016, when the Italian manufacturer failed to win a single race in the championship.

"Obviously its not as much in our control as we'd like but overall I think the team is on a good way," Vettel added.

"We have done an incredible job so far. Obviously, pity the last two races with reliability issues. 

"I think we are improving race by race. We have got a lot further than people thought so there is some positives but for now you don't look at those."

Hamilton took victory in the Land of the Rising Sun by just 1.2 seconds from Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, with the other Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo completing the podium, and Hamilton’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas in fourth. The second Ferrari car of Kimi Raikkonen completed the top five, as the three constructors continued their dominance of the 2017 season.

Speaking about his now huge lead at the summit of the championship table, Hamilton said: "I could only have dreamed of having this kind of gap.

"Ferrari have put on such a great challenge all season long. My team have done a great job. They are so meticulous and that is why we have the reliability we are having."

Second-placed Verstappen, meanwhile, hailed Hamilton’s drive, and stated that he simply wouldn’t have been able to catch the Briton even had he not been caught in traffic as he attempted to close the gap on the final laps.

"I could see Lewis managing his tyres and, with traffic, it seemed difficult for him to follow other cars compared to me," said Verstappen.

"When you close up, you lose a lot of downforce. I couldn't really attack him, but I tried.

"It didn't help, but it was more last lap with Felipe Massa [ahead on the track].

"But I don't think I could get past Lewis, I could close up.

"It was not ideal but it wouldn't have made a difference.

"Once I got past Seb I could do my own thing.

"The first stint was all right, Lewis was a bit faster, and then on soft tyres we had a better balance.

"I didn't want to close up [to Hamilton] too much in case [that] destroyed my front tyres and I needed them at the end." 

You can watch all four remaining rounds of the Formula 1 title on the eir Sport pack, starting with the US Grand Prix between 20-22 October.

Image: Getty/Lars Baron

eir Sport channels are available across the eir Vision, Sky and Vodafone TV platforms as well as on the eir Sport app. All 7 channels in the eir Sport pack are available for free if you are a residential eir broadband customer.