F1: Mercedes reveal aggressive plan to catch Red Bull and Ferrari

Mercedes are yet to win a race this season with Lewis Hamilton enduring his longest winless streak

Mercedes are being relentless in their mission to close the gap to Red Bull Racing and Ferrari at the front. The Silver Arrows are not turning their attention to 2023 just yet, with "far more" upgrades planned for the 2022 car following the summer break.

The reigning eight-time Constructors' Champions were caught out by the new regulations and have seen Ferrari move ahead as Red Bull's main challengers. Mercedes have been playing catch up since the first race of the Formula 1 season, but have slowly but surely closed the gap.

Mercedes chose to pursue an aggressive "no sidepod" design, which brought along with it a number of issues with the main one being porpoising. The Brackley-based team have got on top of the bouncing phenomenon in recent weeks, but are still trailing Red Bull and Ferrari on ultimate pace.

Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton (left) and George Russell (right) pose alongside Mercedes chief Toto Wolff Steve Etherington/MERCEDES-BENZ via AFP

The reigning Constructors' champions have brought upgrades to almost every race in the hope of closing the gap. Mercedes are still about four tenths behind the leaders in terms of race pace, but have shown at certain tracks that their car has the inherent pace to challenge the leaders.

As it stands, many were expecting Mercedes to shift focus on their 2023 car going into the second-half of the season. However, the team's strategy director James Vowles has confirmed that they are not willing to give up, and will continue to develop the car in the hope of claiming a win in 2022.

"In terms of the upgrades themselves, yes, they are incremental steps, they're small steps that we're adding to the car but the important point is that we have plans to introduce far, far more across the races that follow," Vowles said, as quoted by The Race.

"We're not going to be able in one go to just catch up and be with Ferrari and Red Bull," he added. "But hopefully as you've seen across the season so far, we are incrementally closing that gap down and we have more to come."

Red Bull Racing and Ferrari have shared the wins in the first 11 races of the season. The Austrian team have been the dominant force and are now leading both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships by 63 and 82 points respectively.