Red Bull hails Sebastian Vettel's mental strength after Abu Dhabi charge

The double world champion bounced back from a pit lane start on Sunday to finish in third place and minimise the damage that could have been caused to his championship lead.

Team principal Christian Horner revealed that the German had been the only person in the team convinced he could pull off a good result.

"Fernando [Alonso] looked very revved up on the podium having gone forward four places, while Seb had gone to the podium via losing his front wing," said Horner.

"Seb is going about his job the way he does it. Mentally he is very strong.

"Before the race I went to see him to wish him good luck, and he is in there playing a drum kit with his trainer. He said, 'I will see you on the podium'.

"He was the one guy in the briefing room on Saturday night, while the rest of us were ready to slit our wrists, who said he could do it.

"It is that mental strength that he has that is one of his biggest assets."

Vettel's performance in Abu Dhabi means he holds a 10-point advantage over Alonso heading to the penultimate race in Austin.

Although that means the US Grand Prix presents a first opportunity for the German to clinch the crown, Horner insists that Red Bull is not going to change its approach.

"As we have seen this weekend, when you are on the edge things can go wrong," he said. "And we cannot take anything for granted.

"We have to go to Austin to attack the weekend. It is a new track for everybody and we have to go there and get a good result."