Max Verstappen has strolled to two world titles in the aftermath of that final lap victory, while Mercedes have secured just a single win in that time with George Russell taking the chequered flag in Sao Paulo last year.

Mercedes tried to solve those issues in the factory this year, but at pre-season testing in 2023, it was clear to Lewis Hamilton, Russell and the rest of the team that they were still lagging behind.

Verstappen and Red Bull put them to the sword, winning every race but one in 2023 and the Dutchman outscored Mercedes on his own.

Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images

This winter sees the last real development window for this generation of cars before the 2026 regulation update.

Mercedes have to get it right now, otherwise you expect Red Bull to secure two more titles easily.

Hamilton and Russell doing overtime in Mercedes factory

The report from The Athletic suggests that Mercedes need to start again with their car rather than evolve the 2023 version if they want to catch Red Bull.

They go on to say that both Hamilton and Russell spent even more time in the team’s factory to ‘delve into the issues with the designers and engineers’.

It could be easy to suggest that at 38 years old, Hamilton might be starting to take a back seat when it comes to the development of the car.

However, his experience is vital in situations like these and he’ll know exactly what he wants to try and match the pace of Red Bull.

Russell appeared to go backwards in 2023 after a very impressive debut campaign with the team.

Securing just two podiums all season and finishing behind Lando Norris after McLaren’s early struggles will be something he wants to put right next year.

It’s up to the team to nail the development of the car now so they don’t watch their rivals race away from them.