Sebastian Vettel accepts Ferrari has "plenty of work to do" to catch Mercedes, but insists the gap isn't huge.
Once again, the German didn't have the pace to challenge the Silver Arrows in Baku, as Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton claimed a fourth successive 1-2 finish.
The result is a 35-point gap between Vettel and the top of the Drivers' standings, while Mercedes holds a 74-point lead over the Scuderia with 173 out of a possible 176.
“There’s still plenty of work for us to do and we are not where we want to be,” he commented post-race. “I think at this point we just need to maximise what we can.
“The last four races on average we were not quite there, so I think we are not the favourites going to Barcelona but the team is in good spirits and we have more stuff coming on the cars.
“We need to chase them [Mercedes] down and look forward to a smooth weekend. The first four weekends haven’t been that smooth but it will be crucial for us to catch them and turn things around.”
Reflecting on his run to third place, the four-time champion said: “The first stint was really poor. I initially struggled to get the tyres to work.
“I was really uncomfortable and inconsistent. I just couldn’t get a feel and confidence for the car, so that’s usually not so good around here.
“After that, I was surprised because I was expecting a difficult stint on the medium tyres but I had no problems switching them on and I had no problems.
"I was much happier and much more confident and I think we had some pace to at least go with them and put a bit of pressure on.
“We had to keep an eye on Max behind as he was getting a bit close but in the end, we had enough pace on the medium tyre to keep him behind. It was crucial to keep that third.”
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Tyres have been a regular theme for Ferrari this season and Vettel admits the team needs to find the "secret" that Mercedes seemingly has.
Do that, and he is sure Ferrari will be back in contention.
“[We need to] just line everything up," he continued. “I don’t think our car is slow, I think Mercedes is very fast. But it seems easier for them to click and to happen, whereas for us it’s a bit more difficult.”
