Vettel 'will not be distracted' by Mercedes rumours

Sebastian Vettel has brushed aside renewed speculation that he might leave Ferrari at the end of 2017.

The 29-year-old said that he was "not thinking about" contractual matters this early in the season.

The four-time world champion's time at Maranello has so far failed to live up to expectations. The team didn't win a single race in 2016, leading to gossip that Vettel had fallen out with the Scuderia's senior management.

And this week Mercedes boss Toto Wolff further stoked the rumours by agreeing that Vettel "would fit" at Brackley. Vettel is out of contract at Ferrari at the end of 2017, and Valtteri Bottas is only on a one-year deal at Mercedes.

"I understand if from the outsider's perspective," Vettel told Germany's Auto Bild when asked about the latest wave of speculation.

"But at the moment, my only goal is to keep moving forwards with Ferrari," he insisted. "I will not be distracted from that.

"To succeed, every single step must be taken," he added. "There is no shortcut to success."

No room for disappointment at Ferrari, says Hakkinen

Driving at Ferrari was a childhood dream for Vettel, especially as it meant following in the footsteps of Michael Schumacher.

Despite the lack of title success in the last two years, Vettel said Ferrari was "more than a mere racing team." He added that he could still picture himself remaining with Ferrari for the rest of his time in F1.

However, Sky Sports' German commentator and former driver Marc Surer says that Vettel may have to call time on his Italian dream.

"If his third year at Ferrari doesn't lead to success, he is on the market," he said.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.