Mercedes says it's not ready to throw in the towel regarding the development of its W14 car, but team boss Toto Wolff admits that next year's contender will need "a lot of changes" for it to bridge the gap with Red Bull.
Upgrades implemented by Mercedes in the wake of the significant design overhaul introduced in Monaco have helped the Brackley squad improve its performance, although pace fluctuations, a widespread characteristic of this year's cars, save for Red Bull, remain the norm from track to track or even from day to day.
Nevertheless, an element of stability has been instilled into Mercedes' back arrow, with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell both complaining less about the car's inconsistencies that were predominant in the first part of the season.
In the near term, Wolff says Mercedes isn't ready to give up on the development of its W14 and switch all its resources towards 2024.
"I wouldn’t want to give up any season," Wolff declared.
"You can see how McLaren has leapfrogged everybody else with an update that they didn’t expect to be that powerful. Whatever it was, they gained a second probably and leapfrogged Aston Martin, Ferrari and moved in as really strong contenders at the beginning of the season are now nowhere.
Read also:
"We just need to continue working, chipping away at our understanding and unlocking potential in the car as did Aston Martin over the winter or McLaren during the season. We won’t give up."
Wolff's trenchant remark in Hungary about Red Bull's supremacy leaving its rivals feeling "like a bunch of Formula 2 cars" spoke volumes about the frustrations endured by those who are desperately seeking to catch up with the bulls.
Wolff reckons that such a prospect won't come to pass until next season, and with significant changes to Mercedes' current design.
"I think we need a lot of changes in 2024," he said.
"The direction our team is developing is really quite interesting and we see opportunities and we are not shying away of leaving no stone unturned, looking at every single concept."
Many believe that Red Bull's unwavering domination, should it remain unchecked, will slowly erode the fans' interest.
The answer to that fear according to Wolff is for Red Bull's opponents, and chiefly Mercedes, to get their act together sooner rather than later.
"Why I love this sport is that it is meritocratic," Wolff explained. "Entertainment follows sport and not the other way round. We can’t create a balance of performance or anything that would level out the field, it is what it is.
"We had these years with Mercedes where we finished one and two every single race and that was certainly not great for entertainment purposes, and that’s why we just need to work better and get ourselves back into contention.
"Because many fans would have left frustrated after yesterday thinking that we were really close together, keen to watch what happens today, and then they see one car just disappear into the sunset."
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
