Sebastian Vettel believes that Lewis Hamilton's comments on the level of competition in Formula One are a "compliment" to him.
The Red Bull driver tops the standings and is on target for a fourth consecutive world championship after victory in the Korean Grand Prix earlier this month.
However, Hamilton warned that Vettel's success could harm viewers' interest, likening it to the era in which Michael Schumacher dominated the sport.
While the Mercedes driver later sought to clarify his comments on Twitter, Vettel feels that the initial remarks were complimentary.
"That's a compliment, first of all," said the German ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka on Friday.
Asked on comparisons between the current era and that of his compatriot Schumacher, he added: "I think it's very different. I think there's probably one race which was a bit of an exception.
"If you take Singapore, the gaps we had and were able to build up were incredible, to lap two seconds quicker than the cars behind us, but obviously it depends on who was behind us at the time and which tires (they had) and so on, but anyway, what I want to say is that if you take Korea which I think is more similar to Spa, the gap was something between three and six seconds for the whole race.
"If you look at 10 years ago, it was more like 30 to 60 seconds which is a big difference.
"Don't get me wrong, it's a nice cushion to have in the car, when you see that you're three seconds down the road, but equally you know that if you make one stupid mistake--in Korea, for example, a lock-up which was very likely and three seconds is nothing compared to 30 or 60."
McLaren's Jenson Button also confirmed that there was a chance he could return to drive for Honda when the two join in 2015.
Asked on the possibility of linking up with Honda with McLaren, he said: "There's a chance, yes. There's definitely a chance.
"I think first of all it's great that Formula One has another engine manufacturer that's interested in coming back in. I think that's very good for the sport and hopefully it will bring others back into the sport."