Advice for Red Bull and Ferrari: 'Development rate Mercedes second to none'

Lewis Hamilton thinks Red Bull Racing and Ferrari may have taken a step backwards after the sprint race result for the Brazilian Grand Prix, but Carlos Sainz disagrees. However, the Spaniard does stress that his team needs to work on developing the car during the season in 2023.

Hamilton told the press conference after the sprint race that he was surprised by the pace of Red Bull and Ferrari. George Russell managed to win the sprint race in convincing fashion, while his teammate also brought home a good result. The Brit feels like his two rivals have taken a step backwards.

Mercedes has worked hard this season to further develop the car. The team had to, because Mercedes was well behind Red Bull and Ferrari at the start of 2022. Max Verstappen's team now has the two world titles under its belt, while Ferrari is focusing on 2023 after a disappointing end to their title bid.

"I'm pretty certain we haven't taken any step backwards. I think they've just simply done a better job at improving the car and putting downforce on the car. I don't feel like they have a lot of a gap to close in the winter, because I feel like today they were the fastest," Sainz said in the press conference.

'Red Bull and Ferrari need to be aware of that'

It quickly became clear this season that Red Bull had the more dominant car. Ferrari also threw away the lots of points due to multiple strategic errors and poor reliability. In the past, when Sebastian Vettel was still with the Italian team competing for the title, it also became clear several times that Mercedes is good at developing the car throughout the season, while Ferrari lags behind. Sainz therefore stressed that this is precisely what the team needs to focus on next year.

"If anything, it’s us and Red Bull that need to be aware that, if we want to be quick next year in the race, we need to put some downforce in the car and keep progressing. Because we've seen it before: the rate of development at Merc, is second to none. I think they've been showing all these past seasons that even if they're leading, or they're on the back foot, starting the season, they're always the team that developed the most. And it shows that we need to have a good winter. And not only that, we will need to develop well during the season next year," added the Ferrari driver.