MONZA, Italy -- Sebastian Vettel has no doubt his car is legal after Lewis Hamilton hinted that there were a few "trick things" on the Ferrari following last weekend's Belgian Grand Prix.
Vettel beat Hamilton to victory at Spa-Francorchamps after powering past his title rival on the opening lap of the race. The win saw Vettel close the gap to Hamilton to 17 points with eight races remaining and underlined the distinct power advantage Ferrari has held over Mercedes at recent races.
There has been questions around Ferrari's power gains since the start of the season, but an in-depth investigation by the FIA between the Azerbaijan and Monaco Grands Prix found nothing unusual on the car. Mercedes admits it does not understand how its rival has extracted so much performance from its hybrid system in such a short period of time, but Vettel says he is not worried by the rumours those comments have sparked in the paddock or Hamilton's remarks last Sunday.
"I think Lewis said in the press conference something with 'tricks' but I think he said many times he doesn't want it to be interpreted in the wrong way and I think maybe it was," Vettel said. "I am not so sure, but for all of us in terms of is the call is legal or not, the FIA is responsible for it and we have several checks throughout the weekend to prove that so as long as I don't hear anything from that front then I think it's fine, same for the others.
"As I said, maybe it's more of a question for him [Hamilton] and for us it's to keep our head down. If there's something like momentum then to use that momentum to make sure we go forward."
Vettel said it was a nice feeling for Ferrari to get recognition for the improvements they have made.
"I think people forget that for the last five years Mercedes has been absolutely dominant, especially in terms of power unit. Obviously it's nice for them to put us in that position as it means they believe they're not the strongest anymore, so it's good to be up there with them and be a match.
"I don't think we can take anything for granted. I don't think we are anywhere near the place they have been for the last years. We have to work hard to make things happen and we are determined to work hard this weekend to put ourselves hopefully in the same position again that we have a great pace in the weekend, especially on the race on Sunday."