Will Mercedes start 2023 behind again? 'Lost a lot of time'

Nico Rosberg does not believe Mercedes will immediately fight for wins again in 2023. The team is said to have fallen behind in 2022, according to the German, which will also make the start of next season difficult.

After eight world titles in a row, Mercedes had a tougher time in 2022. The team won one race and only did so at the penultimate Grand Prix of this season in Brazil. In the beginning of the year, the team struggled a lot with porpoising and had a car with a lot of drag. This year's problems will still come into play in 2023, according to Rosberg.

Mercedes on the back foot again

"My bet would be that next year they would start behind still. They spent so much time figuring out the problems, rather than moving forward and developing the car. So I still think they'll be a little bit behind but through the season, they way they've been developing, they should have a chance to challenge for the championship next year," said the 2016 world champion at the Any Driven Monday programme on Sky Sports.

Rosberg is confident, however, that Mercedes will eventually compete for wins again and also sees that the pressure has disappeared at the team. "They have accepted the situation that they are no longer the fastest and the best. They are now the ones chasing the best, the hunt is on. Mercedes' are very motivated to fight back and mentally will be really strong," Rosberg concluded.