Formula 1

Vettel not reverting to mind games amid title push

Sebastian Vettel on Wednesday said he is not prepared to escalate his battle for the 2009 world championship into a psychological war. "I don't think very much about that," the 22-year-old German said in an interview published by Germany's ...

GMM

Published: Oct 14, 2009, 10:47 PM

Copy link

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on WhatsApp

Share on Linkedin

Share on Pinterest

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Sebastian Vettel on Wednesday said he is not prepared to escalate his battle for the 2009 world championship into a psychological war.

"I don't think very much about that," the 22-year-old German said in an interview published by Germany's Abendzeitung.

Vettel enters this weekend's penultimate round in Brazil with only a slim chance of overhauling championship leader Jenson Button for the drivers' title at Abu Dhabi in less than three weeks.

His Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner has already compared Brawn's Button with a football player about to blow a decisive penalty.

Horner's latest appearance in the media is to observe that "he (Button) can lose everything and he will not be able to get that out of his mind".

Vettel however vowed to concentrate only on his driving.

"I try not to be distracted by things like that (mind games)," he insisted. "What the others do is not in my hands."

It is clear however that immense pressure is mounting on Button, who has headed to Sao Paulo after a holiday with his girlfriend in Hawaii.

Vettel will step into the Interlagos paddock as F1's dominant last-start winner, and with some new parts for his RB5 -- while Brawn raced its last car update for the season at Suzuka two weeks ago.

Moreover, boss Horner revealed that Vettel's Red Bull will be further updated for the Abu Dhabi finale, with the scale of the title push summed up at Suzuka, when an out-of-contention Mark Webber spent part of his race afternoon testing an Interlagos-spec front wing.

"We have kept our heads down and kept pushing, and we will have some new components in the next two events," Horner said.

Said Vettel: "I have nothing to lose and because of that I can really attack. Jenson has weakened a little bit so maybe this is our chance."

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Read also :

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on WhatsApp

Share on Linkedin

Share on Pinterest

Share on Viber

Previous article Brazilian GP: Ferrari preview

Next article Force India announces new chief operating officer

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

More from

GMM



The season is still very long - Rosberg

Formula 1

Formula 1

The season is still very long - Rosberg



Jules Bianchi's father speaks of family's continued hopes

Formula 1

Formula 1

Jules Bianchi's father speaks of family's continued hopes



Sauber under no illusions about constructors' position

Formula 1

Formula 1

Chinese GP

Sauber under no illusions about constructors' position

More from

Jenson Button



The greatest F1 campaigns with no wins

Formula 1

The greatest F1 campaigns with no wins



Fernando Alonso earns Michael Schumacher comparison from Jenson Button

Formula 1

Formula 1

Italian GP

Fernando Alonso earns Michael Schumacher comparison from Jenson Button



Who belongs on F1's Mount Rushmore? Pick your four greatest drivers

Formula 1

Formula 1

Who belongs on F1's Mount Rushmore? Pick your four greatest drivers

More from

Red Bull Racing



"Just undriveable" – Isack Hadjar looking for answers after "massive" struggles in Austin practice

Formula 1

Formula 1

United States GP

26 min

"Just undriveable" – Isack Hadjar looking for answers after "massive" struggles in Austin practice



Red Bull identifies two "key focus" areas after Max Verstappen's promising start in Austin

Formula 1

Formula 1

United States GP

2 h

Red Bull identifies two "key focus" areas after Max Verstappen's promising start in Austin



Max Verstappen’s words explained: Why Red Bull’s turnaround is so different this time

Formula 1

United States GP

Max Verstappen’s words explained: Why Red Bull’s turnaround is so different this time

Latest news



"Just undriveable" – Isack Hadjar looking for answers after "massive" struggles in Austin practice

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

United States GP

26 min

"Just undriveable" – Isack Hadjar looking for answers after "massive" struggles in Austin practice



Maverick Vinales: “If I stay at home, I don’t get paid”

MotoGP

MGP MotoGP

Australian GP

55 min

Maverick Vinales: “If I stay at home, I don’t get paid”



The unexpected problem Honda encountered despite its second F1 power unit upgrade

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

United States GP

1 h

The unexpected problem Honda encountered despite its second F1 power unit upgrade



MotoGP Australian GP: Full starting grid as four riders forced out of Phillip Island race

MotoGP

MGP MotoGP

Australian GP

1 h

MotoGP Australian GP: Full starting grid as four riders forced out of Phillip Island race

Feature

Discover prime content



What we learned from Friday practice at the 2026 United States GP

Formula 1

United States GP

By Jake Boxall-Legge

What we learned from Friday practice at the 2026 United States GP



Max Verstappen’s words explained: Why Red Bull’s turnaround is so different this time

Formula 1

United States GP

By Ronald Vording

Max Verstappen’s words explained: Why Red Bull’s turnaround is so different this time



Mission control: Inside the FIA and F1's latest answer to football's VAR

Formula 1

United States GP

By Jake Boxall-Legge

Mission control: Inside the FIA and F1's latest answer to football's VAR



How Kimi Antonelli levelled up his character to be F1 2026's world champion-elect

Formula 1

United States GP

By Filip Cleeren

How Kimi Antonelli levelled up his character to be F1 2026's world champion-elect

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts

Subscribe