Charles Leclerc conceded that Ferrari’s relative lack of pace during Japanese Grand Prix practice came as a “surprise” amid its recent performance.
Ferrari and Leclerc have not been beaten in qualifying since Formula 1’s summer break, with the squad making aerodynamic gains with its SF90, which already held a straight-line speed advantage.
The squad won three of the four races held in that period and should have completed a clean sweep in Russia but for the timing of the Virtual Safety Car period instigated by Sebastian Vettel’s retirement.
But at Suzuka on Friday Mercedes finished 1-2 in both sessions, with Ferrari managing only fourth and fifth in the afternoon running, its best effort falling three-tenths shy of Valtteri Bottas.
“I think we made the most out of our day, which was the most important, but it seems we are lacking pace this weekend,” said Leclerc.
“It is a bit of a surprise because at the end we were very strong in the last four races.
“We expected to be quite good here, but it's less this case.
“The balance is not that bad. We are just lacking speed. There's a little bit in driving too. I expect it to be hard to catch Mercedes in front.”
Vettel, who finished half a second down on Bottas, suggested that Ferrari’s predicament is brighter than perceived, but accepted Mercedes holds an advantage.
“It’s not as bad as maybe you think,” he said.
“I think we were quite OK, but just lacking overall pace. I think Mercedes is very comfortable straight from the morning, so not a surprise they were able to show that again in FP2.
“For us, I think we have a bit of room to improve. It wasn't an ideal session, maybe using our tyres not the way we could have. But overall, I think we'll see what we find. We'll stay indoors and see what happens on Sunday.”
Ferrari has not won at Suzuka since 2004 while Mercedes has claimed victory at the event in each season of the hybrid era.
