OMNISPORT

Sebastian Vettel insists he will do all he can to put Lewis Hamilton under pressure in the Formula One title race, despite acknowledging the difficulty of overturning a 50-point deficit.

Hamilton's win in Russia on Sunday saw Vettel slip further off the pace as he was only able to finish third, with Valtteri Bottas having completed a Mercedes one-two.

The defending champion looks to be closing on another title, but Vettel is determined he will not give up the chase.

"We have to be third and settle with that for today," he said after Sunday's race. "I still believe in our chances, yes. It takes one DNF and then all of a sudden things look different - ideally two [DNFs], but I'm not wishing that on Lewis.

"You never know what happens, so we need to stay on top of our game, which maybe we haven't been completely this weekend, and make sure that, from where we are now, we focus on winning the last races."

And Vettel was bemused by the reaction to Mercedes' decision to order Bottas to let Hamilton triumph, believing it to be a "no-brainer".

"I think in the position they were in it was a no-brainer what they did, so maybe not all the questions are justified," he said.