Niki Lauda believes that Sebastian Vettel's 25-point lead in the world championship will only be absorbed if the Ferrari driver retires at least once.
As it struggles to resolve a chronic tyre temperature issue, Mercedes has seen Ferrari and Vettel take command.
A state of affairs which may not improve for the German outfit in the upcoming races in Canada and Azerbaijan where lower tyre temps usually prevail.
"We need to find a solution for the tyre window," Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda told Kronen Zeitung.
"And one thing is clear: Vettel needs to retire at least once, otherwise it's over. Ferrari has got a momentum going. If it stays like this the gap will become huge – alarming."
A potential Vettel retirement is certainly a probability, but the odds of a 10-place grid penalty perhaps undermining the German driver's efforts at some point appear higher.
Indeed, Vettel has already used up his allocated number of turbochargers and three out of his four MHU-H components.
"We know that the Ferraris are not bulletproof," said Lewis Hamilton.
"They've got things potentially coming up, all the totals they've used or potentially used, so we'll see."
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