Four-time Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel has revealed his sly plan in trying to trick Mercedes using a radio message lie late on in the Grand Prix of Bahrain.

Vettel's Ferrari team decided against bringing the German in for a second pit stop, consequently leaving Vettel to deal with his soft tyres for the remaining 10 laps of the event.

As Mercedes duo Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton began to close in on him in the closing laps, Vettel took over the radio to give the false impression to Mercedes that his tires were in fine condition.

“I think 10 laps to go I came on the radio and said ‘everything’s under control’,” said Vettel.

“That was a lie because I was hoping they’d tell Valtteri ‘Sebastian is taking it easy’, tell him to save the engine, turn it down and give up. But they didn’t do that."

“Equally, I was sure if I’d said the truth and said I’m struggling massively with the tyres they would tell him and make sure that he’s having all the power available until the end.

"Obviously my plan didn’t work, but I tried.”

In reality, Vettel's soft tyres were becoming a great hinderance, as the turns on the final laps had to be progressively taken with less and less speed to make sure the car would stay on the line.

“They weren’t getting any better. It was really difficult to keep the car on the line especially in turn eight, turn 10, just getting out of the low speed corners was really tricky.”

In the final lap, Bottas was within a second's range of the German.

“When I saw him in DRS range, I was thinking it would be difficult to make it last. I tried to save and deploy the energy so that I had the boost all the way down the straight and it worked.”

Seeing Mercedes have longer first stints and then switch to medium tyres was the turning point for Vettel and the Ferrari team to stay out on the track despite desperately needing a change, as Vettel explains refusing a pit stop was the “only chance to win the race.”

“With them on the medium tyre and having such strong pace for long we knew it would be difficult to come out with a fresh set,” he said.

“We’d probably chase them down but probably to pass is a different story. First we’d have to get past Lewis and then chase Valtteri and pass Valtteri. In the end we tried and it worked. It’s good when it works out like that.”

The radio message life may not have worked too well, however, it was certainly a clever little trick for a very experienced and successful driver with a vision to win.