Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes Nico Rosberg is mentally strong enough to bounce back from his recent run of disappointing results.
Over the last seven races Rosberg's teammate Lewis Hamilton has outscored him by 62 points, and in doing so turned a 43-point deficit in the title race in to a 19-point advantage. The German Grand Prix was particularly galling for Rosberg as a poor start saw him slip from first to fourth by the first corner before a time penalty for a botched overtaking move ensured he finished off the podium.
But despite a series of setbacks ahead of the summer break, Wolff is confident Rosberg will return stronger and take the fight to Hamilton when racing resumes at Spa-Francorchamps later this month.
"A big yes," he said when asked if he could see Rosberg recovering, "we've seen him starting the season incredibly well and the end of the 2015 season was very good and there's still nine races to go.
"There's more than 200 points to collect, so more than 200 points to recover and everything goes."
Wolff said Rosberg had a "bad day" at Sunday's German Grand Prix but has no doubt Rosberg will bounce back.
"You know on a day like Sunday when you are having a sh---y start, you are losing two positions, you battle your way back and you are being penalised, instead of spending five seconds in the stands you are spending eight seconds in the stands. There is a human being in the car and on top of that the set up probably overheated the tyres. If you put that all together and you are having a bad day, that is the consequence.
"He is mentally very strong and nothing is done yet. That's my opinion and once he has recovered in the next couple of days then there is no doubt that he can come back very strong at Spa."