Lewis Hamilton and George Russell both feel Mercedes are currently in 'no man's land' after picking up six points for Mercedes at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Mercedes have been unable to close the gap to Red Bull this season while Ferrari and McLaren have also moved further ahead.
They've had to watch on helplessly as McLaren have made huge strides in challenging Max Verstappen at the front of the grid.
The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix proved to be a similar story for Mercedes as they were once again off the pace to compete further up the grid while being comfortably quicker than the other midfield teams.
Hamilton and Russell ended up finishing sixth and seventh respectively with the latter picking up a fastest lap point.
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were off the pace in Imola
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Mercedes have only managed to finish higher than sixth on one occasion through the opening seven races of the season.
Hamilton wasn't too disappointed in the result as he appears to have accepted the team's reality for this year.
"We got points so that's a positive," Hamilton said.
"We're a bit in the middle of no man's land, but that's a strong finish for us in general.
"I don't think there was much more to give."
When asked whether it was tough dealing with the reality of going for fastest laps instead of challenging for race wins, Hamilton replied: "I don't think it's tough.
"It's where we are so you just have to do the best you can and that's what we did."
Russell reiterated Hamilton's point, insisting the team is still hopeful of making the necessary upgrades to close up to their rivals.
"You're never going to be happy with a P6 and a P7," he said.
Lewis Hamilton finished ahead of George Russell
PA
"At the end of the day we scored one extra point.
"I lost position to Lewis but I'm not going to sulk about losing a P6 to be honest.
"This is where we are right now. A little bit in no man's land behind the Ferraris and McLarens and ahead of the midfield."
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George Russell is hopeful Mercedes will make improvements
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He added: "Everybody is staying super motivated.
"The morale hasn't dropped at all, which is quite inspiring to see and everyone's just trying to make this work.
"We just got to keep on pushing. At the end of the day, we maximised it this weekend. The car was capable of P6 and P7. That's where we qualified and that's where we finished."
