Rosberg left unimpressed with Vettel tyre pressure 'joke'
Though there was to be no repeat of the dominance he displayed a week earlier in Singapore, Sebastian Vettel showed his sense of humour remained very much intact from the third step of the podium in Japan as a jibe towards Nico Rosberg left all but the German smirking.
Rosberg, who finished second behind Lewis Hamilton in the Suzuka race, described his tyres as 'perfect' when asked whether there were any troubles with the pressures during the race.
His words prompted Vettel to reply 'were you low again?', a reference to the revelation that Rosberg and Hamilton were both caught running lower-than-permitted tyre pressures during the Italian Grand Prix earlier this month.
With a po-faced Rosberg refusing to bat an eyelid, Vettel continued 'I'm joking. You can laugh as well. It was a joke, come on...'
Rosberg proceeded to snap 'I'm smiling', though it was arguably Hamilton between them that was displaying the broadest grin of the three as he chose to stay out the spat.
It is not the first time Vettel and Rosberg have exchanged barbs in a press conference, after Vettel slapped down a suggestion from his countryman that he was 'happy' to see his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen retire during the Australian Grand Prix, replying 'I don't know how much you like each other [Rosberg and Hamilton] but Kimi and myself we get along'., forcing Rosberg to apologise.
Mercedes was judged to have competed with incorrect tyre pressures during the Italian Grand Prix, but escaped punishment after it was determined it had still followed correct procedure as set out by the regulations. The manufacturer also claimed it wasn't aware of the wrongdoing.
