Mercedes is running out of time to improve its F1 car enough to win again this season - having watched yet another of its customer teams make the kind of progress that Lewis Hamilton and George Russell can only dream of. After Aston Martin spent most of this season either beating Mercedes or causing serious problems, now McLaren has leapfrogged the former world champion too. At least in the last couple of races. That mid-season surge has caught Mercedes’ eye, with Lewis Hamilton calling it a wake-up call and technical director James Allison admitting the unusual step merits Mercedes paying closer attention to what McLaren’s done than it normally would. With more upgrades in the works, can Mercedes replicate the scale of McLaren’s improvement, haul itself clear of the yo-yoing fight for P2 and challenge Red Bull - and if not, what can it do to prioritise its 2024 prospects? 00:00 Another customer jumps Mercedes 00:44 Diva 2.0 02:56 Wake up call 05:23 Can Mercedes replicate it? Subs