George Russell confident of Mercedes having 'a more complete car' for 2023 F1 season

George Russell is confident that Mercedes will have a more competitive car from the get-go in 2023. The Briton claims the German team will implement a new philosophy in terms of car development that will help them fight for wins and titles once again.

2022 hasn't gone the Silver Arrows' way, with the Brackley-based team having struggled compared to Red Bull and Ferrari since the very start of the season. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell's uber-successful team, however, has been making something of a comeback in recent races, with the team coming closer and closer to that ever-elusive first win.

Consequently, Russell is confident in his team's ability to bounce back, given their improving form. He told Sky:

"We have a philosophy that we are going to implement in the development of the car. I'm pretty sure it's the right philosophy, but it doesn't necessarily mean we're going to get everything. We have a goal and that is already very positive. We are hunting (for the top teams, ed.) and we have a clear goal. Can we achieve that goal? I'm confident. Of course, we don't know what the other teams can find in the winter, but I'm confident that we will have a more complete car in 2023."

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Ferrari isn't bothered by Mercedes' return to form in 2022

Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto claims his team is not too concerned by the Silver Arrows' return to form in recent races. The Italian boss claims his team's dropping gap to the German team is due to the continued development of their challenger as opposed to the Scuderia's focus on the 2023 F1 season.

Binotto claims Ferrari's focus has almost entirely shifted to the 2023 season, where they will try and challenge Max Verstappen and Red Bull once again. In doing so, Mercedes have found themselves only 40-points behind the Maranello-based team after the 2022 F1 Mexican GP.

Binotto told the media:

"Mercedes [are] coming back, as they have developed the car [more] than we did. We know ourselves that we stopped quite early [with] the development of the car, focusing on 2023. So somehow, I'm not too concerned by the rate of development, because I know when we stopped developing [our own car]."

With only two races to go in 2022, the battle for P2 in the constructors' championship between Ferrari and Mercedes is likely to go down to the wire. With the twisty, high-downforce Interlagos circuit up next, both teams can hope to pip their rivals next weekend.