After persisting with its troubled 2022 concept, Mercedes found out even before the season started that it had likely made the wrong decision and instead devoted its development resources towards a changed floor and sidepod concept, which is being readied for next month's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola.
It remains committed to that course change, even if Hamilton and George Russell performed a lot stronger in the Australian Grand Prix.
They qualified third and second respectively, with Russell within three tenths of Red Bull's polesitter Max Verstappen, and he briefly led the race while Hamilton took second at the finish.
Hamilton cautioned that while Red Bull could plateau with its RB19, it will likely continue finding pace as well. And it therefore might take a longer time to catch than hoped.
"I'm aware that it could take a long time to catch a car. If you look at the Red Bull, it's just going to continue to evolve most likely," Hamilton said.
"Although some cars do plateau in terms of performance, when you get to some point, it can't just keep going. But maybe it can.
Source: Autosport