Lewis Hamilton has told Ferrari it must continue to "extract everything we can from each weekend" if it is to catch Mercedes in the F1 title pursuit.
The Scuderia claimed a surprise 1-3 finish last time out at the British Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc ending his long win drought on a weekend the team did not expect to challenge Mercedes for the victory.
After nine rounds of the season, Ferrari is 78 points behind Mercedes, with Hamilton the best-placed Scuderia driver in third in the standings, 32 points behind leader Kimi Antonelli, with the Italian team also enjoying better reliability than Mercedes.
Since winning in Monaco, Antonelli has suffered an electrical issue which dropped him out in Barcelona, and a wheel shield failure which ruined his likely victory at Silverstone - allowing George Russell and Hamilton to more than half his points lead, which was 68 following the race in the Principality.
Detailing what Ferrari must do, Hamilton explained that the team simply needed to extract the maximum performance from its package on any given weekend.
"I think other than me going into Mercedes’ garage and undoing the bolts," Hamilton joked when asked by media, including RacingNews365, if he was a genuine title contender, prior to the British GP weekend.
"Look, I mean, Mercedes is a phenomenal team. You’re seeing them perform at such an amazing level, and it’s really beautiful to see when a team’s fully in synergy.
"What they’ve brought and what they’ve done this year is mighty, and I think it’s going to take a huge amount for anyone to close them down. You’ve seen now that Red Bull has really taken a step.
"They made a massive step in [Austria], so undoubtedly, I imagine Max is going to be a big contender for it, and he’s got the power also to match the Mercedes.
"So, I anticipate they’re going to be really strong. I think we, as a team, have to just continue to believe, continue to just stay calm and keep working.
"We just have to extract everything we can from each weekend, and even, if possible, a little bit more than maybe what performance-wise is possible."
Also interesting:
Join RacingNews365's Nick Golding and Samuel Coop as they look back on last weekend's British Grand Prix! They discuss whether the title fight has been blown wide open, if Ferrari is a genuine contender and Max Verstappen's major criticism of the RB22.
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