Daniel Ricciardo might be feeling a little lucky to have not been chosen by Ferrari for 2021 after admitting some surprise at their current lack of pace.

The Australian was seen by many as the obvious replacement for Sebastian Vettel at the Scuderia next season, instead, Carlos Sainz was the chosen one, with Ricciardo instead moving to McLaren.

Asked about the situation at Ferrari, the 31-year-old acknowledged their performance was not something he considered when deciding his future but does think the sudden slump will be temporary.

"It's tough to know really how long this string of results will last for the team," he said via Crash.net

"I find it hard to see it lasting too long, but at the same time, I didn't expect to see the results or for them to struggle as much as I have, at least in Spa.

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"It was talked about before the weekend that they were going to have a hard time, and it proved very much to be the case. They certainly are in a bit of a spot at the moment," Ricciardo added, with the two Ferraris finishing 13th and 14th in Belgium.

"I didn't really think that far ahead, if, what, how, why it would look. 

"From that point of view I can't really answer it, but I'm sure they will learn a lot from this year, and I'm sure they will pick themselves up in a better place for next year.”

Ferrari's lack of pace is not expected to be much better this weekend at Monza, the first of three Italian races for the team this year but...

“We’re here to fight and we’re here to fight for the Tifosi as well and we are doing the utmost we can," Sebastian Vettel commented.

"Expectations are always a big word, especially here being in Monza, so it will be very difficult this year.

"We are not having the support from the fans around the track but we will do everything we can to put the best race weekend we can together.”

To score points, however, teammate Charles Leclerc believes Ferrari will have to wait until the inaugural Tuscan Grand Prix next weekend, the team's 1000th F1 race.

“I think we’ll have to wait until we arrive in Mugello which should be a track where we will see a bit more of the realistic picture for the end of the year because Spa has been very difficult for us and Monza I expect a similar weekend,” the Monegasque added.

“Whether it will be enough to come back to third in the Constructors’ Championship I don’t know but we’ll push for this and as a driver, I definitely want to believe in that third place even if we know it’s going to be difficult.”