Vettel calm over new Ferrari deal, confident of 2018 stay

Sebastian Vettel says that there is no rush to sign an extension with Ferrari. The German's deal with the Scuderia runs out at the end of this season, with no visible signs of a quick re-sign. Some believe the four-time world champion is off to Mercedes for 2018.

However, it is widely expected that Vettel will sign for another three years after Ferrari has emerged as title contenders in 2017. Vettel has picked up three wins this year, matching the tally he totted up in his first two years with the team. Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne has previously stated that if Vettel wants a new contract, then one will be issued to him.

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"We have other things to do," Vettel said in Thursday's drivers' press conference. "In the summer there's a bit more time, there's a couple of weeks rest where there's no race but for now, focus is extremely high on working on the car. A piece of paper can be signed fairly quickly so that's not a problem."

So when asked if he would be a Ferrari driver in 2018, he replied: "I don't see why not. I'm certainly not ready this weekend, but I'm not in a rush, I don't think the team is in a rush as far as I understand. I think they would tell me otherwise. There's no problem, nothing wrong."

It is no secret that Ferrari has been struggling lately, with Monaco being the last time Vettel climbed to the top of the podium. The team trails Mercedes by 55 points in the championship, but Vettel remains in a positive mood heading into the Hungarian GP weekend.

"You have a lot of races - some will be better, some will be worse," he said. "The last couple have not been fantastic but I'm very positive. We come here and we know the car is strong, we know we have a chance to fight for victory. That's good news so I think we should look at the positives rather than at one race where things didn't go well for us and turned out well for Mercedes.

"You shouldn't get distracted by any short-term results. Rest assured, we weren't happy with Silverstone but it was a good weekend for us in terms of what we learned about the car to go forward. In fact, I think we have some bits here that should help us and the plan is to keep pushing. The determination and commitment is very high to make sure we stay at the front."

Fergal Walsh