Following a one-two finish last weekend in Texas, the Italian team trail defending champions Red Bull by only eight points and are 48 points behind leaders McLaren.
With Sainz starting ahead of Red Bull's championship leader Max Verstappen and McLaren's Lando Norris, and with Charles Leclerc in fourth, Ferrari are the only title contenders with both cars inside the top 10 for the Oct 27 race, which took place after press time.
However, according to Vasseur, they have driven into contention almost unnoticed.
"We have the advantage to be under the radar," Vasseur told Sky Sports.
"The discussion is more about the fight between Lando and Max, between (McLaren boss) Zak (Brown) and (Red Bull boss) Christian (Horner), between Mercedes and I don't know who - for me, it's perfect."
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