Mercedes confident: 'I think next year we will be in a very strong place'

Mercedes' poor form at the start of the season came as a surprise to everyone. While Red Bull Racing and Ferrari were competing for the title, Mercedes had to watch with a big gap towards the top. However, the team has been busy developing the car further, leading Mercedes to better results especially in the closing stages of the season. In Brazil, for instance, George Russell won both the sprint race and the main race.

"If you look at the direction moving forward, the gaps to the front, especially on race pace, we made huge amounts of progress, and you only do that by understanding where your problems are, working on them and working as a team", Vowles says in Mercedes' debrief on YouTube.

Mercedes expects to be in a strong position

During the season finale in Abu Dhabi, however, it again became clear that there is still a gap towards the two top teams. Lewis Hamilton retired from a race for the first time since 2018, while Russell crossed the finish line with a large gap towards winner Max Verstappen. So Mercedes knows there is still a lot to be done in the coming months, but the team is confident about the new season.

"Is it enough to win next year? The confidence we have is that we now have our tools in the organization producing performance. There’s still a void though, and Abu Dhabi really showed that. That has to be caught up across the winter, and I think we have a very good process and system in place to do that. That development that you saw across the season will continue across the winter. I think we’ll be in a very strong place next year", the Mercedes engineer ends.