Vettel targets Singapore podium

Editor

Although he arrived at the Marina Bay circuit wanting a good result, Sebastian Vettel concedes it is Lewis Hamilton who is "in a very good position."

The Marina Bay Circuit has been a happy hunting ground for Vettel in recent years.

Not only has he won the race on three occasions but he also has an additional two podium results to his name. As such he is the most successful driver at the track.

However, this weekend he will have to overcome Hamilton if he wants to win and that's not an easy task.

The Mercedes driver, who is a double winner of the Singapore GP, is in flying form of late having won the last two races, Belgium and Italy.

The latter saw Hamilton extned his advantage in the championship to 53 points over Nico Rosberg while Vettel is a further 21 behind.

"It is always difficult to predict what is going to happen but this place has been a good place for me, very good results the last couple of years," said the Ferrari driver.

"I really love the track, it is one of the most challenging events we face in the season and I think we have a strong package so hopefully we can keep this record up.

"The goal for the championship is maximum attack, we have to go for everything we can get.

"Obviously Nico is closer to us than to Lewis but as long as the chances are there we have to try and make anything possible that we can do.

"Being realistic Lewis is in a very good position."

The 28-year-old added that he would be aiming for the podium this weekend as he once again looks to join the Mercedes pairing in spraying the champagne.

"Overall we are always quick enough to go for the top five," Vettel said.

"Our target is to be on the podium which is difficult as Mercedes have the strongest package at the moment and if nothing goes wrong they have two cars on the podium and there is not much space left, but we have been pretty good at getting our maximum and most of the time getting that last place."

The German also weighed in on former team Red Bull Racing's pending split from engine partner Renault, saying he hopes the latter remains in the sport.

"It's sad to hear because I was part of the majority of the partnership, and we had some very successful years, which unfortunately now get forgotten because of the situation.

"Renault has done a fantastic job in the past supplying [Red Bull] with a strong engine and the latest technique that was required to be competitive in the blown exhaust era. They were one of the best and most advanced.

"There are a lot of things people tend to forget that Renault has achieved, so I hope they stay in the sport."