Lewis Hamilton says his Mercedes team and himself will look upon the 2022 season as one during which they took away "a really valuable" lesson and experience from their struggles.
Mercedes' new-generation car didn't prove to be the worthy successor to the team's past dominant machines when it kicked off its campaign in Bahrain back in March.
The Brackley squad's early performance level – weighed down by the chronic porpoising issues impacting its W13 - left its drivers engulfed in F1's midfield.
But gradually, as the team worked tirelessly to solve its problems, Hamilton and teammate George Russell detached themselves from the midfield to position Mercedes' silver arrow as the third fastest car on the grid behind its Red Bull and Ferrari rivals.
Hamilton, whose last win dates back to last year's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, is currently enduring the longest winless streak in his career.
But the Britain isn't focused on his own track record, although he remains convinced that Mercedes will reap the benefit of its efforts at some point in the second half of the season.
"We started off not where we wanted to be," Hamilton said. "We’ve made progress, we started to reach a patch of a bit of consistency.
"Not a single person in our team has given up and we’ve continued to push, so I’m really proud of the progress and the experience that we’ve had.
"Entering the season, [it’s] not necessarily the one you would ask for. But if anything, it has been a really valuable lesson learned for all of us and experience.
"I think we’ve sharpened our tools in lots of other areas, so that when we do get back to where I feel like we deserve to be, I think we will appreciate it that much more."
In light of Mercedes' progress of late, Red Bull's Christian Horner believes its cars van be in the mix this weekend at the Circuit Paul Ricard. But Hamilton is keeping his expectations in check.
"Every weekend we’re hoping to improve, for sure," said the seven-time world champion. "I really don’t know what to expect this weekend.
"We’re constantly making changes to the car, the aero surfaces and things like that, so I’m hoping we discover something this weekend and help us creep further forward.
"In general, this has been a decent race for us, so I hope it’s the same this weekend."
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