Vettel denies Ferrari link after Indian win

Sebastian Vettel has reassured his bosses at Red Bull that he has not signed a pre-contract agreement with Ferrari.

Vettel found himself put on the spot following his fourth consecutive victory, and his second in India, that has lifted him 13 points clear of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso in the fight for the Formula One world title.

Rumours have persisted for months, and been ramped up recently, that Vettel will join Ferrari in 2014, even though his current deal with Red Bull expires at the end of that year.

But with Alonso sat alongside him after the race, Vettel was pointedly asked whether there was any arrangement, agreement or talk between himself, his representatives and those at Ferrari about a move.

“No, there’s nothing, nothing to tell you, nothing I’ve signed, nothing has changed,” said Vettel.

“If there’s some rubbish in the press, obviously there might be some concerns back in the factory.

“But I’m 100 per cent behind them as I feel they’re 100 per cent behind me. Therefore I want to get this straight – there’s nothing to report and I’m very happy at Red Bull Racing.”

That is unsurprising given the turnaround in Vettel’s season over the last four races, from the moment Lewis Hamilton retired with a gearbox failure on lap 23 of the Singapore Grand Prix.

From the 24th, Vettel has led every single lap since, a grand total of 204, a period of dominance matched by precious few in Formula One history.

Around the Buddh International Circuit yesterday, once the five red lights disappeared, not for a single moment did Vettel come under pressure.

However, he was wary when asked whether he felt he now had one hand on his third successive world championship.

“This was obviously another good step for us, but there is still a long way to go,” said Vettel.

Alonso did everything he could to stay within touching distance of Vettel, notably after a stunning first-lap battle with the McLaren duo of Hamilton and Jenson Button.

Starting from fifth, Alonso was up to third by the end of lap four, but had to wait until lap 45 and a KERS failure on Mark Webber’s Red Bull to claim second, his best result since winning in Germany in July.