Vettel sets Ferrari target for 2018's remaining races

Sebastian Vettel says Ferrari must use the remaining races of the 2018 season to prove their true potential as both titles look to be slipping through their fingers. Lewis Hamilton leads Vettel by 67 points with four races remaining, with Mercedes 78 points clear in the constructors' standings.

Vettel's on-track errors and a string of strategy blunders have prevented Ferrari from taking advantage of producing a car that has been quicker than Mercedes' for large parts of the season.

The Scuderia were accepted to have a quicker car between the Canadian and Singapore Grands Prix, but Vettel won just three of those nine grands prix, with Hamilton victorious in six, before adding further wins in Russia and Japan, where the Silver Arrows appear to have closed the gap once again.

Another victory in Austin next time out will crown Hamilton if Vettel does not follow him home in second, but the German says Ferrari have plenty to race for in the closing weeks of 2018.

"I think we have great potential in this team," Vettel said.

"Obviously the last weeks have been tough for us overall, and we could be in a better place. We are not. So that happened for a reason.

"But we look forward, and even if the last weeks have been difficult, the spirit inside the team, if you look at the guys and so on, it is incredible how powerful they are, how strong they are, how positive they are throughout.

"I think that [quality] made this team always very strong, and will make this team strong in the next race and in the future.

"So, we know that we still have a lot of potential to unleash and we need to work and dig a little bit deeper and so on. But for now obviously, we want to prove the last races are not what we can do."

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