Sebastian Vettel has laughed off the notion Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen is going through a "negative period" and says the fight between them is closer than recent results suggest.
Raikkonen's future is one of the hot topics coming into the British Grand Prix, with his recent form prompting speculation Ferrari will not take up the 2016 option on his contract. In Austria Raikkonen was eliminated from Q1 after a miscommunication with Ferrari before crashing out of the race on lap one after losing the rear end of his car and colliding with Fernando Alonso's McLaren.
Vettel, who has out-performed his team-mate in six of the eight races this season, thinks the F1 media has been harsh on Raikkonen's recent form and sees similarities with his own struggles at Red Bull last season.
When asked if he was helping the Finn through his "negative period", Vettel replied: "Negative period... I think we have all had races where we have crashed, I don't think we need to call it a negative period. People look at the way F1 is, you have two or three races where you don't get a result and then people call it a negative period.
"I had the same last year, where things didn't come together for very different reasons and it was called a negative period. In the end, Kimi is a champion, he knows what he is doing and he has said this before on the team radio! He will focus on this weekend, like every weekend, too try his best, so I don't need to give him any advice or talk to him."
Vettel echoed his recent statement that he wants Raikkonen to stay on at Ferrari next year, saying he enjoys the Finn's "no bulls***" approach.
"I am not responsible for picking who is driving alongside me. I have a contract for next year, but I think I have said many times that I am very happy with Kimi. I have said since day one that he is very straight, becoming world champion in 2007 hasn't changed him, so it is good for F1 to have him back. He is straightforward, there is no bulls*** from him, that is the politics that I really enjoy.
"Seeing him as my team-mate it is the first time I get to see what he is doing on track. I know if you get the wrong results, that it might be quite obvious, but it is very close with each other. There are corners where he has the upper hand and corners where I have the upper hand, so it is a good challenge, there is a lot I can learn from him, there is a different approach to some things. We obviously have this season left, I don't want the contract details for next year, but it would be nice to have him in the team for next year."