George Russell reckons that Mercedes W13 currently lags its Red Bull and Ferrari rivals by one second a lap based on his results in last weekend's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Mercedes is still struggling to solve the chronic porpoising and lack of downforce issues that are undermining the pace of its 2022 car.
The problem imbedded under the skin of its Silver Arrow has put the Brackley squad on the back foot and at a fair distance from Red Bull and Ferrari in terms of relative performance.
In Saudi Arabia, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who qualified P16 and finished a distant 10th, suffered his worst race weekend ever with Mercedes.
Russell's P5 result brought some solace to his team, but the Briton didn't hide the fact that progress towards improving Mercedes W13 is painfully slow.
"I think we maximised the balance," he said in Jeddah. "We just know what we’re lacking, and that’s downforce, ultimately.
"I was really pleased with how the performance was from my personal side. I thought it was really well-managed, I did my best to keep up with the Red Bulls especially after the restart.
"I gave it everything to try and stay within the DRS zone."
Russell reckoned that Mercedes' contender appeared to be better in race trim.
"I think we have a better handle on the race pace than we do quali pace," he added. "But the inherent issues are still there – low fuel, high fuel – and that’s compromising us.
"So when I look at the result, we finished 30 seconds behind, I think that’s probably 30 laps after the safety car, a second a lap. That’s how far we were behind in qualifying, as well."
Compounding its car's design issues, Mercedes' power unit also appears to be lagging its rivals, a deficit that precludes the team from running higher wing levels.
Team boss Toto Wolff has so far strongly denied that Mercedes' PU is lacking muscle, despite the compelling story told by last weekend's speed trap readings that showed a concentration of Mercedes-powered cars at the bottom of the numbers.
Addressing his team's shortfall, Wolff has refused to single out it's car's weakest area or to aprotion blame to any of its engineering departments.
"I think it's important now not to just point the finger at individual areas of the car," Wolff said.
"We operate together as a team, and I think we have deficits overall that are bigger than an engine deficit.
"Are we among the top teams in any of these areas? No, I don't think so. But you have to remember that this engine has helped us win eight championships in a row.
"Now we just all have to grab each other by the scruff of the neck and, with all our strength, pull ourselves out of this mess."
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