Ferrari endured one of its most challenging outings of the season in Mexico last weekend as it could not extract its regular pace from the F1-75.

That left the door open for Mercedes to emerge as Red Bull’s main challenger for the victory.

In the end, Carlos Sainz was the lead Ferrari to come home in fifth place, but he finished more than 58 seconds behind race winner Max Verstappen.

With Mercedes having enjoyed an uplift in form over recent races, Ferrari’s performances have prompted suggestions that Red Bull’s main threat is now the German car manufacturer rather than the Italian squad.

However, few believe that the Mexico showing was realistic of where Ferrari stacks up right now.

Asked if Red Bull regarded Mercedes as its strongest competitor in F1, team boss Christian Horner said: “I think this track has played to their strengths. I think Ferrari looked like they were a little bit handicapped this weekend, so I’m not sure we saw their real pace. I’m sure they’ll be back.”

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff reckons that, while things have gone better for his squad in recent outings, a much better picture would emerge from the Brazilian GP.

Pushed on if he felt Mercedes was ahead of Ferrari, Wolff said: “I wouldn’t want to say that, because they are a strong team and we’ve had a few strong Sundays now.

“But maybe this circuit flattered us. I think after Brazil, we’ll have maybe more of a picture, but I don’t think…