Lewis Hamilton appears to have had a change of heart on his expectations for 2024 after cutting a dejected figure in Abu Dhabi.
The season finale earlier this month saw Hamilton finish ninth and way off the pace as Max Verstappen recorded his 19th victory of the year.
The gap between Mercedes and Red Bull in the race left Hamilton feeling downbeat after the race and he was even more dejected when looking ahead to next year's championship.
“Red Bull won by 17 seconds and they have not touched the car since August or July," he said.
Lewis Hamilton is more upbeat about 2024
REUTERS
“So you can pretty much guess where they're going to be next year.”
Hamilton's glum mood from that race weekend appears to have disappeared though after a brief visit to Mercedes' Brackley and Brixworth headquarters.
The 2024 cars won't be launched until the end of January, but Hamilton has already had a sneak peak at the W15.
The British racing superstar knows any information now is hard to judge, but he's confident the team are heading in the right direction to challenge Red Bull.
"I think it's always difficult,” he said.
“I'm not an engineer or a designer. So it's not easy.
"It's always the exciting time of the year because I have seen the car in the wind tunnel, I always go by the wind tunnel when I go to the factory, to see it evolving in whichever direction it ends up going.
“Literally when I was leaving yesterday again I popped in just to see where we were, and when I come back, it will be again a different animal.
“I have full faith in everyone that's working on it. And I'm hopeful that we will be in a much more competitive position next year."
Hamilton is without a race win in F1 since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Toto Wolff knows the ultimate challenge of changing Hamilton's fortunes depends on Mercedes building a car capable of winning races.
But the Mercedes team principal is under no illusion that catching Red Bull after the dominance they showed in 2023 is no small feat.
"If we are able to give him the car, then he will be fighting for a world championship," he said.
"I have no doubt. It's clear that when you have a Formula 1 car like we have now, you are never at ease with it.
"New season starts with a completely new car and that gives opportunities but also risks.
"I think we’ve got to be realistic.
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"We are aiming for the stars but we finished only second against a team that was out-performing everybody else."
