Vettel admitted he adopted an aggressive approach which did not pay off.

“I think it’s good,” Vettel said. “I was really happy with the lap.

“I knew that it would be difficult to try and match the Red Bulls so I had to try something different but it didn’t work so I don’t think I could’ve gone much faster. It was obviously a pity to drop back. I don’t know I think Daniel had an error because obviously he improved quite a lot after his first run.”

Vettel says the high-altitude Mexico City circuit and the thin air which negates the power deficit of the Renault power unit inside the Red Bull cars has changed the usual balance of power.

“I think it’s the aero. I think we are quite fast on the straight, but I think mostly because we have less downforce than the others. Therefore we are faster on the straights but slower in the corners.

“This is probably not the track where efficiency counts so much so you need all the downforce you can get. I think it was expected that Red Bull was quick also with the huge turbo that the Renault engine has, they lose less power up here so…”