Former world champion Alain Prost has insisted that McLaren need to "come back" in the German Grand Prix or risk missing out on the title.
McLaren have scored just nine points from their last two races, while rivals Red Bull and Ferrari have picked up 52 and 55 points respectively.
With the latter two teams coming on strong, Prost believes that McLaren need to recovery quickly or watch Red Bull and Ferrari battle for the championship.
"It looks like McLaren has lost some ground for different reasons, and obviously it looks like they do not understand what is happening with the new tyres, which is not good news," Prost told R-Sport.
"I really thought that from the beginning of the year they would be the favourite because they started quite well, but they lost ground and it's very difficult to understand.
"If they don't come back immediately, from Hockenheim, the next race, I think it's going to be difficult."
Prost won four world titles during his career, the third-highest of all time.
