Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has called F1's typical practice of introducing new rules to hinder a team's dominance as "almost embarrassing".
This year, teams' designers had a new set of aero rules to contend with, and Wolff says their implementation is a direct result of Mercedes' sustained period of hegemonial dominance.
"The air is becoming thinner," Wolff told German website Motorsport-Total.com.
"When a team dominates, the rules are always changed to damage this team. It can be called almost embarrassing.
"With the aerodynamic rule change for 2019, they try to change the ranking in Formula 1.
"We have seen this in the past with Ferrari and of course with Red Bull. We must remain motivated and set the right goals."
Regardless of the motivation behind the rules changes, which Formula 1's managers and the FIA have justified by the need to promote closer racing, Wolff isn't taking anything for granted and fully expects Mercedes to have another big fight on its hands in 2019.
"Our task becomes more difficult every year," added the Austrian.
"We set a benchmark, but this motivates our opponents. We have to acknowledge how strong the competition is and recognize that we could lose the world championship this year."
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