In the face of a challenging season, Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes' ability to quickly remedy any issues that emerge over a race weekend is simply "crazy".
Ferrari is once again giving the Silver Arrows team a run for its money, with the Scuderia often outperforming its rival in qualifying and sustaining a performance advantage over Mercedes.
But the German squad's reaction time to counter Ferrari's edge or improve issues of its own is still what truly impresses Hamilton.
"Ferrari have taken a step ahead, they have really taken a step up, particularly in their qualifying performance," said the four-time world champion.
"We are under no illusion that we have to work hard to battle against.
"That’s the coolest thing about this team. They just keep their head down. They don’t make any complaints. They’re just like we have to do better.
"You’ll see if we have an issue on Saturday or Sunday, already it’s on the design board, and we’ll have fixes for this week," he added.
"For me, it’s crazy, that they can already come up with a fix, so intelligent the people we have back at the factory. That fascinates me."
Thanks to two consecutive wins in the last two races, Hamilton has built up a 24-point cushion in the title fight against Vettel.
Both drivers are targeting a fifth world championship this season, a milestone achievement that would put them on a par with the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio.
Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
