Max Verstappen comfortably leads the F1 Drivers' Championship ahead of this weekend's round in France, but the Dutchman believes Red Bull is still chasing Ferrari in terms of pure performance.
Verstappen heads into the second half of the season with a 38-point advantage over Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.
Yet the Red Bull charger feels the Scuderia has so far enjoyed more dominant wins than its Milton Keynes-based rival, with the Italian outfit's latest victories in Britain and in Austria proving Verstappen's point.
"In general, I felt like at the beginning of the year we were the ones like chasing and trying to beat Ferrari," Verstappen said in France on Thursday.
"Then they had a few retirements and we of course took advantage of that, or through strategy calls.
"So I think overall, we, from my feeling, [are] still [doing] a bit of chasing.
"Of course it depends a bit on the tracks, but overall, I feel they had more dominant weekends than we [did]."
Ferrari and Red Bull's sparring this season has led to an ebb and flow in the championship, with Leclerc's early lead over Verstappen evaporating on the back of his car's reliability issues.
But the subsequent 49-point edge built by the Dutchman has also been reduced in the last two races, a fact that isn't lost on the reigning world champion.
"After Melbourne, I thought if there is a possibility, we might be able to fight towards the end of the season back for a potential chance," Verstappen said.
"And then I mean it really quickly turned around. But that also shows that it can go the other way very quickly, so we just always have to be on it. We cannot make mistakes."
But Verstappen argues that clean races and flawless execution won't be enough for Red Bull to prevail at the end of the season. The team he says also needs to sustain its development efforts.
"We still need to bring updates to the car and we need to work all the time, and it's no guarantee," he added.
"People say Red Bull has been really good in the past and bringing upgrades and development. But this year we have to show it again, because every year if you start thinking like that, then normally you fall behind, because you think you are that good.
"We always have to show that we are good at it and that's what we are trying to do."
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