Despite his team's victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix, Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene believes the gap to championship leaders Mercedes will continue to vary from race to race.
Ferrari has won two races to Mercedes' eight this season, but has often been over half a second off the pace of the world champions over a single lap. Arrivabene said the development of the two cars means there are races where Mercedes takes a leap forward but also occasions when Ferrari closes in.
"At the beginning of the season it was quite big but we were nearly able to catch up," he said. "Then we continued our development, but they also developed their car and then flew away again. I think the story of this season is going to be just that, they are the strongest team and I recognise that.
"Sometimes we are able to catch them up or to win races like Hungary and in Malaysia and sometimes they fly away.
"This is the story of this year and that is telling to us that we are going in the right direction. Even the best team, the team that is at the top, sometimes they have a fail and then they go up again, but it doesn't mean they are stepping back."
Arrivabene said much of the gap is dependent on circuits and tyre compounds and he is looking forward to plans for 2016 which will offer teams greater choice of compounds ahead of the weekend.
"We have to wait for different tracks and different tyres. For example, talking about tyres I am dreaming for the day we can make our own choice about tyres, then Formula One is going to be a bit more interesting."