Mercedes have thrown in the towel on their hopes of winning a championship in 2022 after a miserable Sprint at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
After both drivers were eliminated before Q3 for the first time in 10 years in qualifying, neither George Russell nor Lewis Hamilton made progress during the 21-lap race at Imola on Sunday.
While Russell maintained his P11 on the grid, Hamilton actually lost a place dropping to 14th to start Sunday's GP.
"We are obviously not fighting for the championship, but we are fighting to understand the car and improve and progress through the year, that is all we can hope for right now," a disappointed seven-time world champion told Sky Sports.
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"A lot of work is going on in the background, but this is what it is, this is what we have. Ultimately we haven't got it right this year and everyone is working as hard as they can to correct it."
That view was echoed by Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, who believes the rest of the Imola weekend is a "write-off".
"I think points scoring needs to be the minimum, but this is not where we set our expectations and therefore this weekend is a complete write-off," said the Austrian.
"You can say 'well, we're trying to learn', but we weren't great with tyre warm-up, that's why there is not a lot that can be really done.
💬 "We understand our problems, we have a direction to unlock the potential that is within the car, to bring us much closer to the front. But at the moment, we don’t have the key." pic.twitter.com/7GBvuiTJEW
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) April 23, 2022
"It's a humbling experience."
More broadly, he added: “We are four races in and today marks the low of the first four races. It is obvious that we are not anywhere near the fight at the front.
“It would be pretty unrealistic to claim we have a slot among the frontrunners fighting for the championship.”
