Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes his team's chances of snatching second from Ferrari in F1's Constructors' championship are intact with six races to go.
For all its difficulties in getting on top of the complex issues that have impacted its new-generation car since the start of the season, Mercedes remains the only F1 team to have scored points in every single race this year.
And while the Brackley squad was outscored by Ferrari last weekend at Monza - on a track that did not suit its W13 silver arrow - it's trailing the Scuderia by 35 points, which is a reasonable deficit for Mercedes to draw back with six rounds left on the calendar, and more importantly six venues where the German outfit is expected to perform well.
"I think you see that we are on a track that doesn’t suit us," Wolff told Sky Sports F1 last weekend in Italy. "We are clearly third on the road, so [positions] three and five is probably the maximum."
At Monza, George Russell – F1's Mr. Consistency – clinched his seventh podium of the season while teammate Lewis Hamilton concluded his afternoon fifth after starting on the back row of the grid.
After the race, the seven-time world champion said that he had enjoyed himself battling in the thick of F1's midfield, and Wolff enjoyed watching.
"It was enjoyable. At the beginning, it looked like [he was] a little bit stuck, but once the tyres came together, he was very quick."
Queried on Mercedes' chances of catching and overhauling Ferrari in the championship, Wolff said: "I think it’s all to play [for].
"We just need to do the best every single weekend and see whether we come out second."
Asked if a runner-up spot in the standings would perhaps 'soften the blow' of this year's extraordinarily difficult campaign, Wolff added: "Maybe a bit, but there [are] more blows that we are ending up 30 seconds behind the leader, and that is the gap that we need to catch up."
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