Brazilian GP: Ferrari boss explains Mercedes' sudden resurgence; remains unconcerned

Mercedes overhauling Ferrari in the Constructors' championship was unfathomable at the start of the 2022 season. The Silver Arrows team, who were well off the pace, have now made up ground on Ferrari, but the Italian team's boss Mattia Binotto has explained the main reason for their resurgence.

The eight-time constructors' champions were a distant third as Red Bull Racing and Ferrari battled at the front. But true to their nature, they refused to throw in the towel, and mounted a fight back. They stepped up their development, and have gradually made up ground on the frontrunners as the season progressed.

Red Bull have been unsurmountable all season, as they blew away all competition to claim both the Drivers' and Constructors' titles with races to spare. Ferrari were their main challengers, but dropped off as the season progressed and are now almost in the clutches of Mercedes.

The Brackley-based team have certainly improved the pace of their car, but have also benefited from Ferrari's poor reliability and strategy mishaps. It has allowed Mercedes, who are yet to win in 2022, to remain in touch with the Maranello-based team going into the final races of the season.

However, Binotto is not concerned about Mercedes' resurgence in the second-half of the season. The Italian confirmed that Ferrari had switched focus to their 2023 car well in advance and stopped developing their 2022 challenger unlike Mercedes, who even brought upgrades to the recent United States Grand Prix.

"Mercedes is coming back because it developed the car more than we did. We know ourselves that we stopped quite early the development of our car, focusing on 2023. So I'm not too concerned by the rate of development because I also know when we stopped developing it," Binotto said, as quoted by Formula Nerds.

Mercedes are just 40 points behind Ferrari going into the final two races of the season, and they are desperate to finish ahead of their Italian rivals. In recent races, Mercedes have looked on par if not stronger at times during the race, but Binotto remains unfazed.

The Italian feels his team has not been at its best in the last couple of races in the United States and Mexico. He is certain Ferrari engineers have understood the issues hampering them, and will look to have stronger weekends at the final two races in Brazil and Abu Dhabi.