Lewis Hamilton is hopeful that Mercedes can design a “great car” to try and compete with Red Bull next season; however, the British driver has heard rumours that “Red Bull are progressing” too.
The seven-time World Champion was in an excellent mood after Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix, as he did excellently to recover from sixth on the grid to finish second.
Only Max Verstappen was ahead of Hamilton, by a considerable margin.
He didn’t expect to be fighting for the podium places at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez given how disappointing his qualifying performance was, but the W14 once again came to life in the race.
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Race pace has been a real strength of the Silver Arrows since the introduction of the new aerodynamic regulations last season, whereas qualifying has consistently been their downfall.
Hamilton often is left with too much ground to make up in order to fight for victory, whilst overtaking has also been made extremely challenging due to the W14’s poor straight-line speed.
This was evident on Sunday in Mexico City, as Hamilton was forced to be extremely brave when trying to get past Daniel Ricciardo and Charles Leclerc into the opening corner.
When in clean air, only Red Bull are superior to Mercedes, wth the 38-year-old being confident that the Germans can try and battle them next season.
Hamilton acknowledges that Mercedes have built two bad cars in a row now but he has the belief that 2024 can be a different story, although it could all be for nothing if Red Bull are also making progress with their design for next season.
“I am incredibly proud of my team and I have total faith in the team,” Hamilton told Sky Sports F1.
“I know we can build a great car. We haven’t for the past two years. But we can build a great car.
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“There are a lot of engineers, nobody wants to copy anybody, they want to find their own way. But I think we are progressing. But I’ve heard that Red Bull are progressing, as well.
“So we have to be really, really strategic and really clinical – they know that already – in order for us to be battling those guys. They are so quick on the straights, we are losing two and a half tenths into Turn 1.
“But I believe. I’m ready. If we can get a car that can match them, we’re going to have some great battles next year.”