Sebastian Vettel has emphasised that Ferrari does not use team orders to favour him over Kimi Räikkönen.
Vettel currently leads the standings, having taken four wins, with his contract running through 2020, while Räikkönen has yet to triumph this season, holds fifth overall, and his extension is just for one-year.
Vettel responded ‘no’ when asked if he felt team orders were necessary at Ferrari, ostensibly to aid his title bid, and expanded: “I am a bit surprised by the way things are put.
“I think Kimi and myself, I can’t speak for other people, but Kimi and myself I think we have been racing each other all year.
“I read or I heard after the Hungarian Grand Prix that he was protecting me.
“I think if you speak to him he can make it pretty clear. He was, how can I say, I don’t think he was leaving anything behind.
“I think if he had the opportunity properly to pass me he would have tried and that’s fair enough. I think it would have been the same the other way around.
“I think we are racing for the team, we’re both trying to our best, if it happens that you race for the same spot then you might meet yourself on track.
“You’re both fighting for yourself but you’re also fighting for the team, so it’s something you need to keep in the back of your mind.
“I don’t know what other teams are doing, but for us, I think we both go flat out and see what happens.
“Normally you can always talk about a lot of things, scenarios and so on, but it always turns out to be a bit different from that.”
Vettel hold a seven-point lead over Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in the standings.
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