After a horrible race in Hungary, Mercedes know Ferrari will be “totally different” at the upcoming races post-summer break.
Around the twists and turns of the Hungaroring, the Italian team finished a minute behind race winner Lewis Hamilton as their shortage of downforce was firmly on show.
However, with long straights characterising the next two circuits, it is expected that the Scuderia could simply overpower their rivals.
“They have a very strong engine and less drag, and that’s why we will see a very strong Ferrari in Spa and in Monza,” Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was quoted by F1i.com.
“I have no doubt that the conversation could be totally different than the one we’re having right now.
“It’s going to be difficult for us and that’s why it’s about enjoying the moment and starting [this week], we have to sort out our problems in order to be competitive at Spa,” he concluded.
Sebastian Vettel also knows an opportunity to break what is his longest winless drought since 2014 awaits in Belgium, the site of his last victory in 2018.
However, after what has been a very disappointing season so far, he is also aware that big improvement is still needed.
“Here and there, I didn’t do the best job,” the Ferrari driver concedes. “That’s something I need to focus on and get better in the second half.
“The last couple of races were maybe a bit better for me, whereas some races, in the beginning, I struggled more with quite a lot of things.
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“It’s clear we’re not where we want to be, you look at the points table, you look at a race like [Hungary], you look at the areas in tracks where we’re lacking performance.
“We’re addressing those things. We’re working very hard, we’re not short of commitment. The key is to remain calm, do our homework and try to catch up as much as we can.
“There might be tracks coming up next, especially with Spa and Monza, that might be better for us,” Vettel noted.
“But in the end our ambition is to really force things to happen, be in control of the race. Where we are now, we’re quite far away from that.”
