That is the opinion of former Ferrari Driver Academy chief Massimo Rivola, who has pinpointed Sebastian Vettel’s mistakes as the reason his old team did not win the title in 2018.
Lewis Hamilton is gearing up for the new campaign which starts with the Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne’s Albert Park circuit next month.
And he will go into it with high hopes that he can win his third World Drivers’ Championship on the bounce and his sixth overall.
Mercedes, who have dominated F1 for the past five years, will be eager for Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas to secure another World Constructors’ Championship too.
Ferrari pose the biggest threat to their hopes of success, with four-time champion Sebastian Vettel and the promising Charles Leclerc on their roster.
However, Rivola believes there are two reasons Mercedes have the edge on their fellow contenders with the start of the season just a matter of weeks away.
“There will be a feud between Ferrari and Mercedes again, the pendulum can swing back and forth like 2018, depending on the track characteristics,” Rivola told Italian magazine Autosprint.
“I think Ferrari had all the cards in hand last season to become world champions. But Mercedes has two advantages: first, this team has absolutely nothing to prove, they can go completely relaxed into the title race.
“Second, they have a clear reference point, and that’s Lewis Hamilton. He is the man of the extraordinary, they must continue to rely on him.
“As for Ferrari, I firmly believe that they are building a victorious car. They also have a good driver Sebastian Vettel, who missed an opportunity in 2018 because of his own mistakes.
“Hockenheim [where Vettel floundered] may have been the emblem of the [2018] season, Monza too. Now the difference: Vettel has with Charles Leclerc a stable mate, who can theoretically destabilise the team.
“Everything will depend on Ferrari’s rules and how the season’s first Grands Prix unfolds.”
Mercedes’ Hamilton and Ferrari’s Vettel looked set for a season-long scrap for the F1 title during 2018.
The duo traded race wins for the first half of the campaign, with Vettel also coming out on top in Belgium after the summer break.
However, that victory at Spa-Francorchamps was a false dawn, with Hamilton going on to pull away at the top of the drivers’ standings.
Reigning F1 champion Hamilton ended the season 88 points clear of Vettel, something Ferrari will be desperate to avoid this year.