Vettel eyes Ferrari mission amid retirement talk

Sebastian Vettel has once again brushed off any notion of his impending retirement from Formula 1, saying he remains happy with Ferrari. With the Scuderia struggling to break Mercedes' grip on F1, it had been reported recently that Vettel may be growing tired with the sport.

Vettel is contracted to Ferrari until 2020. Although he has previously suggested he is uncertain of his future beyond that point, he says an imminent departure is not on the cards.

"I never said anything like it, so I don't know where they come from," said Vettel.

"I think I can stop whenever I want, and the team can probably kick me out whenever they want, but I'm very happy with the team and I hope the team is happy with myself.

"I'm very hungry and I have a mission here to win. That's really the only thing that matters to me, winning with Ferrari, and that's what I'm working for.

"Currently we're not winning, you can do the maths, so we still have something to do."

Vettel sees no reason to set a deadline for Ferrari to pick up their form, but says the coming months will prove important.

"The next races will be really crucial for us trying to get back to the front and give a much harder time to Mercedes," admitted Vettel.

"Once we can establish that, then we have plenty of reason to look forward. It will be crucial to do it sooner rather than later, but at the moment I'm not too fussed at looking at 'this is the date it has to happen'.

"Clearly we are behind, clearly there is quite a big margin between Mercedes and the rest, Mercedes and also ourselves, so we have to close that gap and get ahead, otherwise it will be difficult to turn it around."