Vettel: I can still win the title

The 22-year-old German won in China and Great Britain earlier this year, but has slipped to fourth in the standings following suspension damage at the Hungaroring and an engine failure in Valencia.

But he insists that the title is not out of his reach just yet.

"It is still possible," Vettel said. "I am not giving up, definitely not. For sure, 25 points is not easy, but we have seen how quickly things can change.

"I think one thing that helped is Jenson has not been consistent in the last few races. I don't know what was wrong, but sure it helps us."

Vettel admitted that his back-to-back retirements have dented his charge, but says there is still time to recover.

"We should have been scoring points in the last two races, but we did not. For sure that did not help, but it remains open, we will push, we will fight. We are in the hunting position, we have to score big points."

He also concedes that the end of his season will be made more difficult by having suffered two engine failures, as he will have to take a 10-place penalty should he need to use more than two units in the remaining six races.

"We are considering all our options and it probably means less running for myself on a Friday, less practice, which is not an advantage," he said. "But at the end of the day, do you want to take the penalty? Yes or no.

"Maybe it is better to have some time off, some coffee in the break, than start 10 places back at some races. We will see. From now on, we cannot afford to have any mistakes or failures again."