Sebastian Vettel remains convinced of one thing: the manufacturers’ title will be an important element for Ferrari.

With a 133-point lead in the manufacturers’ ranking, Mercedes has a substantial buffer before the end of the season. The final rounds, including the Russian Grand Prix on Sunday, could allow the German manufacturer to consolidate its supremacy and move closer to a sixth consecutive title.

Sebastian Vettel believes that only this crown will allow the Scuderia Ferrari to return to the forefront.

“I’ve been with Ferrari for a while now and I think there’s only one way for Ferrari to be back, and that’s to win the championship. It’s a very harsh judgment, but that’s the way it is, it’s the reality. We are working very hard to do that.

“I think this year it will be very, very difficult to reverse the course of events with the shape Mercedes has shown in the last 14 or 15 races. We continue to fight because everything we learn this year will help us for next year, so the parts we bring are positive for the direction and development for the coming season,”

Despite this plan, Vettel claims he’s realistic about the team’s chances and that he doesn’t expect Ferrari to win all the races from this point on.

“It’s been a very good streak for us, it was a very good result in Singapore because it was at a track where lately we haven’t been so good,

“So that certainly was a surprise, a positive surprise for us. But I think it also helps us to understand our car even further with the stuff that we brought to the car and understanding the direction of what it needs to do more, to explore certain directions more.

“So there are a lot of positives other than the result going forward. Overall, it is definitely heading in the right direction but it would be wrong to think ‘We’ve won on two different types of tracks, we can win everywhere’.

“I think it’s still Mercedes that have been in a position to win every race this year so they are the ones to beat, they are the benchmark. That’s where we want to be, and ideally ahead of that.

“So there’s still a lot of work in front of us but I think it also shows things are going in the right way and it doesn’t take much to click.”