Mercedes boss, Toto Wolff says the DNA of the team's 2023 contender will be different to its predecessor.

His words come at a time the German team is facing its first win-less season since the introduction of the hybrid formula in 2014, indeed the first season in which it has failed to score a win since 2011, having returned to the sport as a constructor the previous season.

The German team adopted the radical ‘zero-pod' approach this year, and this, combined with an approach to the rules overhaul which resulted in its cars being the most susceptible to 'porpoising' has resulted in a season in which it is only now showing signs of becoming a force again.

Following the final updates, introduced last weekend, and which almost took Lewis Hamilton to his first win of the year, Toto Wolff admits that there will be changes for 2023.

"I think the DNA of the car is going to change for next year; that's clear," he says. "It doesn't necessarily mean that the bodywork is going to look very different, but certainly what is part of the DNA of the car, the architecture, will change for next year.

"With our car, it's just draggy overall," he admitted, "and it's something that we need to figure out for next year.

"THe cost cap played a role," he added, "we can't just produce infinite amount of low-drag bits or spend a lot of time in the wind tunnel to come up with solutions, so it's for next year."

Nonetheless, he insists that last weekend's performance was a clear sign of a step forward.

"I think that Lewis and Austin is a banker, and we brought an upgrade, I think we've seen that in terms of performance.

"Maybe we expect sometimes too big steps, but it was respectful, where we were this weekend, it was respectful in qualifying.

"As long as the trajectory is upwards," he concluded, "it's like a share price; there will be ups and downs."