The Mercedes team is already working hard on its 2024 car design, but driver George Russell says they can't promise that the new chassis will restore them to the top alongside Red Bull.
Mercedes claimed eight back to back constructors titles between 2014 and 2021 with drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, but dropped to third in last year's campaign after the FIA brought in changes to F1's aerodynamic rules.
The team struggled with a revolutionary 'zero sidepod' design approach and chronic issues with 'porpoising' in 2022. Even though those have now been resolved, Mercedes remain a long way behind Red Bull in terms of performance.
This year the team is currently in second place in the standings with five races remaining, having moved ahead of Ferrari. But they've still only got half the points of Red Bull, who clinched this year's title in Japan.
Russell said that even though Mercedes was confident of making significant progress over the winter, it can't promise that the new car will be enough to enable them to start winning races and compete with Red Bull next year.
"When we look at our [current] car, we see a number of flaws in it," Russell told the media last week. "It's not like we're looking at it scratching our head thinking: 'Where can we improve it?'
"We think there's loads of places that we can improve it," he continued. "We've made some really good findings recently with regards to the aero of the car and some of the bits and pieces on the car, which is looking very promising.
"But we can never promise what we're going to deliver over the winter in terms of a result, because it's a relative game," he cautioned. "We can only focus on ourselves.
"But I'm extremely confident in my team and very confident in the decision makers and the direction we're heading," he said. "We've made some really great learnings and won't trip up and make a mistake as we have done these past few seasons."
Russell's team mate Lewis Hamilton backed the warning that it was too early to make promises about where they would be next season.
"We don't know where [Red Bull] are or where they're progressing to," he explained. "We just have to focus on our job and not necessarily be so focused on closing that gap.
"I have 100 per cent faith in the guys, the team back in the factory working away on it, so who knows?" he added. "It’s going to be what it is. By the time we get to the first race [of 2024], hopefully, it is closed."
The team will be adopting a design philosophy closer to that of the currently dominant RB19, which has won all but one race in 2023. Meanwhile the W14 risks being the first Mercedes model not to win a race during a season since 2011.
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