Charles Leclerc says he can still stop Max Verstappen from enjoying a successful Formula 1 title defence – but admits the task is getting "more and more difficult".
In terms of car performance and driver pace, the two have been fairly evenly matched throughout the season. One weekend Verstappen looks to have a slight edge, and then a week later he is playing catch-up to Leclerc.
The difference, as often proves to be the case in this sport, has been reliability. Red Bull were quick to get on top of the gremlins that appeared at the start of the season, but Ferrari's title charge has been all but completely derailed by engine issues.
As a result, Verstappen leads Leclerc by 80 points while the gap between the teams is almost into three figures at 97. If he fancied an extended summer break, the Dutchman could choose not to show up for the next three races and still be guaranteed a lead in the standings, so commanding is his position.
But still, the Monegasque refuses to give up hope. "Until it is mathematically over, then I still want to believe in it," he told BBC Sport . "This is what gives me the motivation."
The task is a massive one – a points gap of this size has never been overcome in the sport's history. If he is to have any hope of a miracle, Leclerc needs to hope Ferrari sort out their engine problems once and for all over the summer, while eradicating his own individual mistakes which have proven costly.
But despite being so far behind in the first bona fide title challenge of his F1 career, the 24-year-old feels he is a better driver than ever. And he doesn't plan on making any changes to the way he operates in the second part of the campaign.
"I really feel like this first part of the season has been my strongest in F1 and I think the way I have worked," he added. "And the way we have worked as a team – in terms of finding the right set-up, in terms of building up to the qualifying lap in Q3, or just preparing the race – has been the best I have ever done in F1.
"So there is no need for me to change that approach. Again, try and grow from the mistakes of the first half, but try and perform as well as the first half because the performance I've given, I'm extremely happy about. And this I want to keep. So there won't be any significant change. We just need to try and work as a team to put a weekend together for the nine remaining races and see where we end up."
