Despite the brilliance of Ferrari's drivers this season, the team's chances of winning the Formula 1 title seem remote, and this is not so much a conclusion as a reality that team principal Fred Vasseur acknowledged earlier.

The Italian team has not won any title since 2008, but now trails Mercedes by 78 points in the constructors' standings, while seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton is third in the drivers' standings, 32 points behind leader Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes.

Downplaying Expectations

In previous statements, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur refused to inflate his team's chances in the Formula 1 World Championship, even after his team celebrated its second win within three weeks.

Charles Leclerc, who won the British Grand Prix a month after his teammate Hamilton's win in Spain, is fourth, 39 points behind his teammate.

When asked about the battle that seems to be narrowing between Mercedes and Ferrari at the front, despite Ferrari's duo missing the podium in Austria between the two wins, Vasseur said: "The championship battle is a description from your own words."

He added: "After the Barcelona race, I received a comment saying that Ferrari was back in the championship picture, and I said no. The following week you told me that Ferrari was completely out of contention, and I said no too."

He continued: "That doesn't mean we have become champions, nor are we out of the reckoning. We are improving step by step, but that's the reality."

Belgian Grand Prix

The Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps is next, where Leclerc previously won in 2019 – in a different era before the current engines – while Hamilton has tasted victory in previous visits with Mercedes and McLaren.

Vasseur believes that Mercedes, winner of seven out of nine races and starting from pole in all of them, still has a slight performance advantage, even if Ferrari appears strong in qualifying and race pace.

Hamilton and Leclerc felt they could compete strongly, and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff agreed, affirming that they are strong competitors and expected that the situation would continue for the remainder of the season.

George Russell, who was lucky to finish second after the safety car deployment favored him and Antonelli suffered a mechanical issue that prevented him from scoring points, said that Ferrari is clearly in the competitive circle.

The British driver said: "The Ferrari drivers look very fast. So yes, the real battle has begun."