Vettel: Brazil win will prove Ferrari aren't cheating

Sebastian Vettel says a Ferrari victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix will dispel any suggestions that their pace advantage has been gained by illegal means.

Ferrari's run of six straight pole positions between Belgium and Mexico came after an engine upgrade which is estimated to make Vettel and Charles Leclerc almost a second per lap quicker than their rivals on straights.

Mistakes on the track and the pitwall have prevented Ferrari from converting a number of those poles into wins, but rivals Red Bull and Mercedes have nonetheless taken a great interest in the red cars' newfound strength.

Ferrari endured a struggle at the United States GP, Vettel retiring early in the race and Leclerc struggling to keep pace with the top three, using an old spec power unit.

The performance came after a week in which the FIA had issued a Technical Directive to teams – prompted by a fuel flow proposal from Red Bull which was ruled illegal and seen as an attempt to get to the bottom of Ferrari's greater power.

In response to Ferrari's disappointing form in Austin, Verstappen said: "That's what happens when you stop cheating."

That claim was dismissed by Mattia Binotto, as well as Leclerc and Vettel, who described Verstappen's comments as immature and unprofessional before the Brazilian GP.

And the German says victory at Interlagos, where a fresh engine-related TD has been issued to teams, will show they are not breaking the rules.

"There's nothing for me to silence but yeah, it helps," Vettel said.

"We want to win here, and if we finish one and two then it will have a silencing effect on that front.

"Maybe it's a nice side effect, but our target is not to silence people. Our target is to win races."

Vettel was the fastest on-track in Friday practice, and ended FP3 down in fourth as Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen impressed.

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