Vettel plays down engine advantage

Former world champion Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber both claimed on Saturday that Toro Rosso were now the leading Red Bull-owned team thanks to the engine they were running.

But Vettel is adamant that their show of speed in Valencia cannot be explained just by any horsepower advantage they may have.

"For me, nowadays there is not so much difference in the engine," he said when asked by autosport.com about the influence of his Ferrari V8. "It is not that you can blame three, four or five tenths on an engine only.

"I think with the regulations how they are now, all the teams I think and all the different engine manufacturers are quite close together. Maybe one has an advantage on this kind of circuit and maybe one has the advantage on another kind of circuit.

"It depends on the characteristics, but I think there are more things playing a key role - aerodynamic efficiency, what package you use, and how much downforce you use.

"Then there are other things, simple things, like straight-line speed, and car height. There are many things, so it would not be smart to blame one thing."

Vettel believes the fact that Toro Rosso have been ahead of Red Bull Racing in Valencia has also been because the sister team have under performed.

"I think at Red Bull they were trying some stuff on Friday and they maybe got confused a bit. And then it is difficult to come back straight away. If you are lost and then you think you are lost, then maybe you get even more lost. In the end, sometimes it is better not to touch too much.

"Here the circuit was very green and you just have to wait for the circuit to come. But I don't know what happened to Renault or Red Bull Racing. I believe that we are getting stronger, but I still think that Red Bull Racing is a step ahead."