Sebastian Vettel says he doesn’t feel additional pressure racing at Ferrari’s home Grand Prix in Monza.

The German goes into this weekend with high expectations of backing up last week’s Belgium Grand Prix victory.

Ferrari appear to have the upper hand on Mercedes with their superior straight-line speed, which is a key asset at Monza.

Hamilton leads by 17 points after Spa last weekend, as the season seemingly builds towards a thrilling finale.

Vettel feels that Ferrari were “going in the right direction” but he is not about to disregard Mercedes at Monza, and won’t be piling any more pressure than necessary on himself in Italy.

“Everyone can feel something special is going on. We have a good car but we need to make it happen,” said Vettel.

“It is good to see we are getting stronger. In some areas, we have caught up. In others maybe we have a little bit of an edge. That is where we want to be, and maybe even beyond that.

“We want to keep that level through the year, and if there is a gap to increase it. It is going in the right way but there are a lot of things that can be improved and we need to focus on those and go step by step.

“It is a great feeling when you can fight for pole and victory. It is what you want.”

Vettel is 1.80 to win the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday, while Hamilton is 2.75.