Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has scotched suggestions that his squad feels any sense of entitlement to a top spot on the grid in Formula 1.
Mercedes returned ot the sport after a 55 year absence in 2010 by taking over surprise world championship winners Brawn GP, but it too several seasons for the new works team to find its feet.
It was with the arrival of the modern hybrid era that the Silver Arrows rocketed to the top and took eight consecutive constructors championships from 2014 until 2021.
But new rules introduced in 2022 featuring the return of ground effect aerodynamics have left Mercedes struggling to match their Red Bull and Ferrari rivals, and this year's much-improved Aston Martin.
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Far from their former dominance, Mercedes managed just one pole position and a single race win last season. And in the first three races of 2023, the team's best result so far has been second place in Australia, suggesting their struggles continue.
“It’s been difficult so far,” Wolff acknowledged in a Q&A for the Mercedes F1 website this week. “With the way we developed the car, we were hopeful of sorting out our issues from last year.
"We realised we weren’t coming out of the blocks where we expected to be," he acknowledged. "Having said that, we don’t feel any sense of entitlement.
"We [have been] successful over multiple years, while recognising the fact you are never going to win every single season, because no sports team has ever done it.
“This is the toughest competition in the world," he pointed out. "It wouldn’t be such a fantastic challenge if it was easy ... It’s about being realistic with your expectations. Hopefully we will see a steady improvement."
Wolff said that the most recent outing in Australia suggested that the team was indeed finally getting back to the front of the grid, and that it was growing stronger with every outing.
"Three races into the season, I think we saw that one team is setting the benchmark now. In Australia though, we saw glimpses of performance in our car that encourages us for the next part of the season.
"It is encouraging to see that within three races, we understand the car much better, we have defined a clear direction where we need to go and I believe we are on the right trajectory.
"It's also important to keep on track and not oscillate too much between exuberance and depression; to stay rational and believe in our trajectory, believe in the capability of the team.
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"The machine is continuing to run in Brixworth and Brackley at a fast pace. What you see on track is only the tip of the iceberg," he said. "There will be setbacks, but there will also be upgrades and plenty of work that will help us get closer to the front."
The challenge for Mercedes will be to continue their rate of development compared to their rivals if they are going to have a hope of catching and really battling Red Bull for race wins, let alone titles.
"We need to have a steeper development curve," he agreed. "We trust in the process and in the people, and there will be setbacks but if the trajectory is up, that's where we want to be heading."
After an extended spring break over Easter due to the absence of the planned Chinese GP, the team will be bringing some major new upgrades to the next outings at three very different tyres of tracks.
“We will consistently be bringing upgrades to the car over the next few races, which is something to look forward to," he confirmed. “But there's no such thing as a magic bullet that transforms the car
"Baku is a very different track, it’s high speed on the straights and it’s always an entertaining race" he noted. “Miami’s track layout is also a unique challenge. Going back there is fantastic with lots of marketing and partnership activities.
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“And then obviously Imola, where we will start the first triple-header of the season," he noted, referring to races in Monaco and Spain in the weeks immediately following the Emilia Romagna GP.
"We want to compete for race wins [but] we need to consolidate our understanding and hopefully over the next few races we can make another step," Wolff summarised.
"Your perspective is not always on a single race weekend, not even a single season. It's on trying to build our capability so we are successful over multiple years." And then - and only then - can Mercedes feel any new sense of entitlement.
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