Daniel Ricciardo says teams are still learning about their new-generation cars and the scope of development could allow McLaren to leap forward at some point and join the battle at the front.
So far, Ferrari and Red Bull have performed in a league of their own, with Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen sharing race wins with a comfortable edge over their pursuers.
Mercedes and McLaren currently stand third and fourth in the Constructors' standings, at a fair distance from F1's front-runners.
But Ricciardo says it's early days still in terms of F1's development race, with teams still learning about their 2022 designs.
He admits it's a tall order, but the Aussie believes a breakthrough upgrade package could see McLaren move forward in leaps and bounds and challenge Ferrari and Red Bull.
"Don’t get me wrong, at least sitting here now, it’s an optimistic ambition to be better than the third-best team because the top two are certainly a good step in front," Ricciardo said at Imola recently.
"But there is still a lot to learn with these cars and, naturally, not only us, but every team will bring updates, and even a team like Mercedes, with their philosophy, maybe that comes to life at some point in the season.
"So, I think there is still a lot of scope for development and improvements. Not these one-tenth, two-tenth improvements, but potentially the bigger four, five-tenths.
"It’s still ambitious because, obviously, Red Bull and Ferrari will continue developing so the target is always going to be moving but I’m still definitely more glass half full that we can still find something a little more at the moment."
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Ricciardo's teammate Lando Norris, who snatched an impressive podium last time out at Imola and who currently sits sixth in the Drivers' standings, says McLaren can inch closer to its leading rivals.
But bridging the gap outright as Ricciardo suggests is highly unlikely in the young Briton's view.
"As a team, from where we started, if we can end at least third that would be lovely," said Norris.
"We can start to close in a bit on the gap, but the gap is too big to the guys ahead to say we’re going to be anything better than third.
"But [the sooner] we can solidify that and hopefully take some steps towards the top guys, the better. And if we can do that at least sometime this season, that is something good to aim for."
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Andreas Seidl, the man spearheading McLaren efforts in F1 praised his crews for the progress achieved by the Woking-based outfit in Melbourne and at Imola.
But as ever the realist, Seidl won't go any further than to suggest that McLaren should be a contender for solid points at each race.
"I'm never too confident because I know that the machinery in this paddock with all teams is not standing still," he said.
"But I am confident that we have a car and a package which is able at each weekend at the moment to fight for Q3 and fight for good points.
"And that goes together with a strong team and two strong drivers."
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