Sebastian Vettel believes Ferrari have made progress and are in a "strong position" to challenge at this weekend's German GP, admitting it would be special to win his home race after agonisingly missing out last season.

Vettel arrives in Hockenheim as a driver under pressure - not just because of the mistake which gave Lewis Hamilton the ultimately-crucial championship advantage at the circuit in 2018, but also due to an array of errors made since, most recently at the last race in Silverstone.

But the German, currently 100 points behind Hamilton in the drivers' standings, insists he is looking forward to the weekend and is optimistic about Ferrari's chances of finally ending their 2019 win drought.

"I think it's special to have the opportunity to race in your home country," said Vettel, who is yet to win at his local track. "Obviously I was very close last year, let's see if we are close again this year.

"I think we are in a strong position to start the weekend but then again, I think we've seen some recent races in which we've been very strong in terms of qualifying and race pace. I'm fairly open-minded, let's see where it goes."

Vettel continued: "I think we've made progress. Obviously we are not where we'd like to be and are not as competitive as we'd like to be, but I think the understanding and the direction is going in the right way."

Mercedes have won all but one race this season, although Ferrari and Red Bull have been gaining on the runaway leaders.

2:29 Simon Lazenby and Martin Brundle look ahead to this weekend's German GP from Hockenheim Simon Lazenby and Martin Brundle look ahead to this weekend's German GP from Hockenheim

Asked if he "badly" needed a victory this weekend, Vettel replied: "Not badly... obviously I want to win but also I'm realistic.

"Coming here, I don't feel that we are the favourites but I do feel that we have a chance. For me, that's the point of going racing, you have a chance to do well. That's the objective and we will find out during the weekend.

"It's a special place for me, very close to where I'm from and there's a lot of family about and friends close by. To find a good way to celebrate, I wouldn't need to go far so that would be quite handy!"

Vettel was understandably questioned about his past year since his critical German GP error - when the four-time world champion crashed out while comfortably leading - but stayed calm and collected during the press conference as he spoke about dealing with F1 pressure.

"I always put myself under pressure so I can't be happy if things go wrong," he explained:

"For sure if I get something wrong and do a mistake, I can't be happy with that but I think the pressure I put on myself after that is bigger than any external factors. This has been the same as long as I can remember.

"For me, it's the most honest and straight-forward way to deal with it myself because I know what I've done wrong and what I've done right. I know when I've had the opportunity to do well or not. I think you're always your best judge, no matter what you do - those are the rules by which I play."

Vettel made a race-costing mistake in Germany last year

'Privilege to race for Ferrari'

As well as the pressure of making mistakes, many paddock observers believe the weight of Ferrari has been dragging Vettel down in recent months - with F1's most successful team without a title in over a decade.

Vettel has regularly spoken of his "dream" to win a title with the famous Prancing Horse and reiterated that desire in Hockenheim on Thursday.

"It doesn't feel like a burden, it feels like a privilege to race for Ferrari," he insisted. "Obviously my mission and my goal, as well as the team's goal, is to get back to winning ways.

"If we do that, then we have a much better chance to fight for the championship. But we are missing that final step and that's the most important step."

Vettel, 32, also batted away retirement questions, which he has frequently faced this season.

"I don't know how long I'm going to be here," he added. "I love racing and I think they are the fastest cars... the joy that I get from driving is like it's ever been. And the motivation is high to get the job done with Ferrari.

"Those are the two things dictating if I'm going to be around for long or not."

1:59 Max Verstappen overtook the Ferrari into Stowe but Sebastian Vettel then rear-ended the Red Bull under braking during the British GP Max Verstappen overtook the Ferrari into Stowe but Sebastian Vettel then rear-ended the Red Bull under braking during the British GP

Vettel: Only benchmark is Mercedes

Ferrari and Red Bull have been locked in engaging wheel-to-wheel battles in the last two races but in Silverstone, those fights were only for the final podium position with Mercedes some way clear.

And although fans may enjoy that scrap, it doesn't appeal as much to Vettel.

"I think Mercedes does have an edge on everyone else, I think that's pretty clear," he said. "In terms of raw speed, they are the benchmark. For myself and for us, that's the benchmark.

"Between ourselves and Red Bull, it's been closer and most of the time we were ahead, sometimes we were behind, but that's not the objective.

"The objective is to fight for wins and to do so at the moment, you need to be level or better than Mercedes."

Watch the German GP live only on Sky Sports this weekend. Find out more here to watch the 2019 season live