Lewis Hamilton has been warned that Mercedes are 12 months behind rivals Red Bull by principal Toto Wolff - as the British star faces another season trailing Max Verstappen.
The seven-time world champion had hoped to leave the car troubles which plagued last season behind him in Mercedes' new W14 model. However, the British driver has been left frustrated again with a "miserable" car and has given a bleak outlook for the remainder of the season.
Verstappen battled his way back from 15th on the grid at the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix earlier this month and Hamilton said he "didn't even bother" battling with the two-time world champion as he flew past on his way to finishing second.
Hamilton later said that the Red Bull was the 'fastest he has seen' in his 17 seasons as an F1 driver. Wolff has a more positive outlook on catching their rival constructor, but fears it could take up to 12 months to compete again.
"I think the lag is probably between six and 12 months, because that's the time it really took for us to figure out what was actually happening with the [2022] car," said Wolff. "That means we just need to double the development speed, a stronger development slope which the logic and rationale speaks for it, that we could have it.
"Red Bull's gains are going to be incrementally smaller if their concept is mature. Aero-wise, wind tunnel time can help a bit but not hugely, and we've just got to get our act together.
"If we fundamentally understand where we need to put the car, then the steps are going to be large, but we need to be perfect."
Sky Sports pundit Ted Kravitz has tabled his own theory about why Red Bull's RB19 model is considered the fastest car that F1 has seen for some time. The pit lane reporter says that Red Bull's rivals are focusing on how their DRS system works as Verstappen passed his opponents with ease in Jeddah.
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"What Hamilton is referring to is the ease at which Max Verstappen was able to pass him on the straight the moment he opened his rear wing flap," said Kravitz. "So we have this thing called the Drag Reduction System, and that means that on the straight if a car is behind, they can open their rear wing which normally slows the car down, having a rear wing.
"What Lewis is saying is that you've never seen a car gain quite so much speed by opening its Drag Reduction System, rear wing flap, and he doesn't understand how that's possible."
