Lewis Hamilton's Canadian Grand Prix win has reduced the Brit's deficit to Sebastian Vettel in the drivers' standings to just 12 points.
Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda insisted last week that Hamilton would likely require at least one DNF from Vettel to overhaul the German in the title fight.
But the Austrian has now revised that judgement.
"No, that was exaggerated," the F1 legend told Osterreich newspaper.
"The championship is still long enough. Hopefully the Hamilton-Vettel duel will remain tense all the way to the end."
The F1 legend recognised that Vettel had been unlucky when he suffered front wing damage at the start after a contact with Max Verstappen, a hit which unsettled the German's race strategy.
He had no doubts however about who had been the best driver in Montreal on Sunday.
"Sebastian was unfortunate," said the Austrian, "but Lewis dominated from the start and our car was the best."
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Gallery: All the pictures from Montreal
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