Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, believes there is “light at the end of the tunnel” for the Silver Arrows following a lacklustre season so far.
Wolff says that Mercedes is already focusing on a new car for 2024.
Red Bull’s RB19 has utterly dominated the grid this season, with the team winning 12 out of 12 GPs, along with three Sprint races.
Red Bull has been in a golden reign since 2021, when Max Verstappen battled Lewis Hamilton to win his first world championship.
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Before this, Mercedes had ruled the roost, winning eight straight Constructor Standing championships.
This is not to mention eight-straight world championships, split between Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
However, the Mercedes car was seen to take a major step back in 2022 – to the point it was no longer competitive with Red Bull.
Ground-effect technical regulations were introduced into F1 at the beginning of last year.
Mercedes did not keep abreast of the changes and fell behind both Red Bull and Ferrari.
The Silver Arrows have made changes to their W14 car this season, which have seen them retain second place as of now.
The team revamped the W14, ditching their ‘zero sidepod’ concept for a more conventional design.
Wolff said: “Our season didn’t really start well in Bahrain, but I think over the last races we’ve been able to comprehend the car a little bit better.
“The race for P2 is really tight between Aston Martin, Ferrari, McLaren, and ourselves.
“Now it’s really focusing on what we need to do in order to be winning championships again.”
Wolff says the entire team is now “laser-focused” on getting back on track in time for the 2024 season.
He remarked: “We understand where we need to add performance.
“It’s a frustrating process because it takes time to change the car fundamentally, the concept and aerodynamics.
“But there is definitely light at the end of the tunnel.
“Main areas of improvement is just about giving the drivers a more reliable car.
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“It’s just for them to know the car is going to be stable when they come into the corner, which isn’t the case at the moment.”
Wolff believes that the current car can be optimised without the need for excessive upgrades.
He stated: “The sails are set for 2024.”