Mercedes chief Toto Wolff is ready for an "epic battle" with Ferrari in the final eight races of the Formula One season.

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel leads the way from Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton in the drivers' championship, though the Brit closed the gap to seven points with victory at Spa last weekend.

The German team have boasted the winning driver in each of the past three seasons and are on course for a fourth successive constructors' title, but Wolff expects stiff competition from their nearest rivals.

"We said before Spa that it's dangerous to make assumptions this year and the race weekend demonstrated why that's the case," said Wolff ahead of this weekend's Italian Grand Prix.

"It was a dog fight with Ferrari and, although we came out on top, we did so by a small margin only. We can expect the same kind of close battle at every race this year.

"There will be no races where it is a walk in the park and we are ready for an epic battle all the way to the finish line in Abu Dhabi.

"In the coming weeks, we must grasp every opportunity, accept good fortune with humility, misfortune with resolution and show our resilience on the days when our rivals are stronger.

"The pendulum will swing again a number of times before Abu Dhabi, the season so far has shown us this much.

"Our focus is simply on extracting every possible point from each race in succession, beginning this weekend in Monza."