(Motorsports news) After a poor Japanese Grand Prix weekend in which Mercedes appeared to have only the fourth-fastest car, Mercedes is well aware of how far ahead Red Bull now stands. And Hamilton, who has been a vocal advocate for Mercedes to completely rework their concept approach, believes there should be no hesitation in understanding the magnitude of the gap that must be bridged by the start of the 2024 season.

“I have no idea where the car is going to be next year, but we’re a long, long way away,” he stated to Sky. “We’ve got to hope for the next six months to be the greatest six months of development that we’ve ever had to close that gap and to be really banging on the door.”

While the time deficit to the front appears to be significant, Hamilton believes that the example of McLaren – which changed car approach to assist it emerge as Red Bull’s major adversary currently – demonstrates the leap that his team is capable of making. “The evidence is there at McLaren, and Mercedes can’t turn a blind eye to that – to look at what they’ve done and go in that direction,” he stated. “That is the course of action.

“But I have faith in my team, and we’ve always been good at putting downforce on the car.” It’s just that, with our car as it is now, adding downforce doesn’t help; it just makes it bounce more. “Hopefully, with a change in philosophy, we’ll be back to where the team deserves to be because this is a world champion team, and we’re still an incredible team.” I have complete faith in everyone, but decisions taken during this time are essential to our future.”

Mercedes began making progress with its W13 car a year ago, culminating in victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix. As a result of the victory, the squad was sure that it was on the right track with its concept, so it stuck to its guns for 2023. That proved to be a blunder, especially as the team pitched its aero platform at an excessively high riding height.

As a result, it was unable to achieve the desired results. Hamilton admitted that just competing for decent points positions now was difficult, but it was necessary to boost the team’s constructors’ championship hopes. “I’m giving absolutely everything, but it’s tough on weekends like this, particularly where the car is such a handful,” he stated.

“It’s basically the same as last year.” The automobile felt exactly the same as it did last year. It’s bouncing and sliding, which is difficult given how much work we’ve put in to advance, and we’re no closer to the front, at least here.”

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