Fernando Alonso says the chasing pack are "trying to find the miracles" required to catch Mercedes.
Since the V6 turbo regulations were introduced at the start of 2014, Mercedes has dominated F1, taking 26 victories from the 31 races in that time. Honda returned to partner McLaren this year but has struggled for both performance and reliability, with the team currently having scored just 17 points.
When asked how realistic it is to expect Honda to be able to close the gap seeing as Mercedes is already focusing on its 2016 power unit, Alonso replied: “Well that’s the big challenge.
"As you said, the advantage Mercedes has now is quite big, but it’s the way it is. Always one team has dominated the sport, that’s always been the way it is. Now it’s Mercedes, Hamilton and Rosberg have the opportunity to fight for world championships and all the others are trying to find the miracles. That miracle hopefully will come from Japan.”
And Alonso admits he was expecting more from Honda this year, but he is still convinced he is in the best seat outside of Mercedes at present.
“Well it’s a matter of trust and confidence. Of course last year when we were at this point of the year and I decided to stop with Ferrari and join McLaren I did it basically because the project of the McLaren-Honda partnership again will succeed sooner or later. Obviously the situation of the performance we have this year is a little bit lower than the expectations we had last year at this time.
"But anyway, to beat Mercedes you need to do something different. Either you are in a Mercedes car or you are frustrated. It doesn't matter what the others will say, the people that are on the podium or the Williams cars who have podiums here and there, they cannot be happy. They are fourth, they are third, they are second, they are fifth … we are 16th, OK, but we want to be first and to be first I still believe I am in the right place for the future.”
Chris Medland's Singapore Grand Prix preview
2016 F1 driver line-ups so far
Click here for some of the most memorable crashes at Singapore
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
David Coulthard believes McLaren must adopt a more championship-winning mindset if they are to challenge…
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has revealed that Formula 1 is exploring the possibility of…
Yuki Tsunoda left Monza last weekend thoroughly disappointed by the performance of the latest upgrades…
The Aston Martin F1 team is reportedly nearing a stake sale to two US financial…
On this day in 1969, Jackie Stewart out-dragged Jochen Rindt to win the Italian Grand…
Williams team principal James Vowles admits that F1 apprentice Franco Colapinto was “loaded up with…