Sebastian Vettel believes this season's Formula One title chasers face a "very tight call" deciding whether to go for broke or settle for second best during a race.

Vettel's crash in the Belgian Grand Prix four weeks ago followed by Lewis Hamilton's opening lap accident in Italy brought into sharp focus the split-second judgements being made.

Vette, who was fastest in practice for Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix, said: "Put it this way, if Lewis' suspension had not broken then nothing would have happened and no one would have talked about it. "In his case it did break, it all went wrong for him and it did not look very nice after the race. It's a very tight call from inside the car, and it depends on who you are, your driving style because some drivers try, others don't.."

Vettel t-boned Jenson Button after attempting a manoeuvre derided by the reigning world champion, one that sent him into retirement when he was running second.

At Monza 13 days ago, Hamilton pushed too hard too soon by going for a gap that did not exist as he tried to dive down the inside of Felipe Massa on approach into a chicane, which resulted in a broken suspension.

He added: "You need to look at the risk, whether a move is possible or not, and if it's not possible you don't try.

"But sometimes you think it is possible, you try and it doesn't work.

"Look at my example in Spa. I don't think I did terribly much wrong, but it ended up the wrong way.

"We are all human, we all make mistakes, and if we make them on a Friday nobody cares; if we do them on a Saturday people do care a little more, and if we do them on a Sunday, depending where and when, it is a big thing.

"That's correct because the race is the time we need to deliver. In the end the quality of a driver comes down to his speed, his consistency, and the amount of calls he gets right."