Lewis Hamilton says he hopes Mercedes will progress enough during the 2023 season to challenge Red Bull by the end of the year.
At the start of the current campaign, Red Bull has been largely unchallenged, taking all seven grand prix wins on offer.
As was the case in 2022, Mercedes has started the season off the front-running pace but introduced upgrades in Monaco to re-direct its development path.
With Spain offering more insight into the new parts due to Monaco’s unique circuit layout, the Brackley-based squad enjoyed a strong race as it was notably the second-fastest team.
Hamilton crossed the line in second place while team-mate George Russell followed him home in third.
But Hamilton has conceded that Mercedes is still a while away from being able to challenge Red Bull.
“With the current car that we have, I don’t think we’ll be matching their performance but we’re working on improving the car,” he said.
“So, with the current package we’re limited to the pace that we had today, but I think there’s a huge amount of work and studying and improvement that we hopefully will have coming in the future.
“Naturally, they should also be progressing through the year, so we need to be taking big chunks out of them with every step we take.”
During the race weekend, Sergio Perez stated that Red Bull is no longer bringing major upgrades to its car for 2023.
And with Mercedes focused on clawing in on the deficit, Hamilton is hopeful that by the end of the year it will be able to contest for race wins.
“I think today they [Red Bull] were a good few tenths ahead of us,” he said. “Maybe half a second ahead of us per lap – and on a single lap, that’s a little bit bigger – but I think we’re going in the right direction.
“I know we have something in the pipeline moving forward, so I’m hoping that at least by the end of the year, maybe we can could challenge them.
“I’m more focused on making sure next year we have the car to challenge them from day one.
“And the further we continue to push this car this year, the more that impacts next year also, in some ways.
“But the more we learn about this car also, that also sets us in the right direction. It’s trying to find the right balance.
“They’re so far ahead and ultimately Max will continue to win this year – but that means they can start on their development for next year sooner, earlier than anyone else if they haven’t already – and that’s the danger.
“So, we’ve just got to keep working hard but also try to get the right balance.”
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