Mercedes pushed Lewis Hamilton too far during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the team's head of strategy James Vowles has admitted.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton finished fourth in Baku, with team-mate George Russell claiming third, but called the race the "most painful" of his career after suffering severe back pain throughout.
Hamilton's discomfort, which saw him struggle to exit his car after finishing, was caused by the team's W13 car porpoising – bouncing unevenly – and led team principal Toto Wolff to initially suggest the 37-year-old could miss the upcoming Canadian Grand Prix.
While Hamilton has since quelled those fears by saying he "wouldn't miss it for the world", Vowles said the team had pushed him too far in the last race and could not afford to do so again.
"[Lewis] is an elite athlete that will push the bounds of endurance of himself and the car", he told Mercedes' YouTube channel. "That's what Formula One drivers do, that's what makes them exceptional.
"On this occasion, though, we pushed the package and our drivers too far, we are putting them into significant discomfort and we simply can't do that again.
"Our drivers are not the only ones suffering, you will see in the media a number of comments from a number of drivers who are equally in discomfort and pain. And we have a responsibility now to make sure that this doesn't carry on."
Having won each of the last eight F1 constructors' championships, Mercedes sit third in the current standings, trailing leaders Red Bull by 118 points eight races into the 2022 campaign.
While Vowles acknowledged Red Bull and Ferrari remain the "benchmark", he believes Mercedes could narrow the gap to the leaders in Montreal.
"We didn't expect perhaps to drop back as much as we did in Baku, but that provided a platform to learn from," he added.
"Montreal isn't going to be substantially different to the last two races, I think we will still have a package that isn't at the front on merit. Red Bull and Ferrari will still be the benchmark that we have to compare ourselves to.
"I think though that the large gap that you saw in qualifying in Baku perhaps won't be that big in Montreal – it will be back down from where it was and as we go through all the races from then onwards, I am fairly sure we will find small steps and developments that push us back towards the front."
Vertsappen confident in Red Bull revival after taking 'good step' in Baku
Max Verstappen is confident that Red Bull's mid-season struggles are now firmly in their review mirror ahead of the United States Grand Prix this weekend.
Verstappen started the season with seven wins from the opening 10 races, with the Dutchman on track to claim a fourth consecutive world championship at a canter.
However, a combination of Red Bull taking a wrong turn with car development and McLaren's resurgence has seen the campaign take on a new complexion for the final six races.
Verstappen has gone eight races without a victory, seeing his lead in the drivers' championship cut to 52 points by Lando Norris, with Red Bull also surrendering top spot in the constructors' standings to McLaren after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
For now, Verstappen is optimistic that Red Bull have turned a corner after they introduced an update to their floor in Baku.
“Yes, it felt better,” Verstappen confirmed. “That was already a good step for us. I do think we are moving in the right direction now.
"It will take some time. You can’t turn something like this around in one or two weeks. But I do think the team was happy with what they saw in Baku as well.
“Yes, I do think so to be honest," Verstappen added about their season struggles being behind them. "Hopefully we can continue to make good steps from here.”
If either Verstappen or team-mate Sergio Perez scores points in the United States, Red Bull will have put at least one of its two drivers in the points for 62 consecutive races, equalling the third-best run in Formula One history.
Red Bull are also 45 laps led away from reaching 7000, and would be the fifth team to reach this figure in the competition after Ferrari (15888), McLaren (11029), Williams (7584) and Mercedes (7255).
But that particular milestone could have come much sooner, with Verstappen saying he was surprised by Red Bull's dramatic drop-off after a dominant period on the track.
“In the beginning, I was surprised as well, but if you look at what our problems were, then I fully understand it," Verstappen told Autosport.
“At some point, we have gone in the wrong direction. The other teams have either not faced that particular point yet or they developed the car in a slightly different way.
"That is always difficult to assess.”
Binotto likens Audi challenge to 'climbing Everest' ahead of 2026 debut
New Audi chief Mattia Binotto has admitted the task of turning the current Sauber team into Formula One winners will be like “climbing Everest”.
Sauber, the team which has been bought by Audi and will transform into the German manufacturer’s works outfit in 2026, are enduring a torrid season.
The Swiss team are rooted to the bottom of the constructors' championship, with Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu failing to score a point in 2024 so far.
In fact, their best finish came at the Bahrain Grand Prix in the opening race of the season, with Guanyu finishing in 11th place.
Former Ferrari team principal Binotto, who was installed as chief operating officer and chief technical officer in August, has been tasked with spearheading Audi’s F1 project, though he acknowledged the challenges that lie ahead.
"It’s not only climbing a big mountain, it’s climbing Everest. It will take several years," Binotto told BBC Sport.
"Our objective is by the end of the decade to be able to fight for the championships."
Binotto added: "When you are here and you start looking into the details, the more you look, the more you realise where you are and what are the main differences to what I knew from before from Ferrari.
"Certainly the gap and the differences are many and the gap is big.
"It’s big because of dimensions, because of the number of people, because of mindset, because of tools, facilities.
"Whatever you look around, it is really comparing a small team to a top team."
Sauber are yet to decide who will complete their driver line-up for the 2025 season alongside new signing Nico Hulkenberg.
Bottas is a leading contender to join the German on the grid in 2026, though Williams stand-in Franco Colapinto has impressed since replacing Logan Sargeant.
Binotto has also confirmed that Mercedes reserve driver Mick Schumacher, who lost his full-time F1 seat with Haas at the end of 2022, is also in the frame.
Retiring Nadal deserves everything in the world for sacrifices, says Lorenzo
Rafael Nadal deserves "everything in this world" in his retirement after the sacrifices he made during his tennis career, says former Moto GP world champion Jorge Lorenzo.
Nadal officially confirmed his departure from the sport earlier this week, with his glittering 23-year spell on the court set to end after November's Davis Cup Finals in Malaga.
The Spaniard has lifted 22 major titles, a total only bettered by Margaret Court, Novak Djokovic (both 24) and Serena Williams (23) in tennis history.
An astonishing 14 of those came at the French Open, which is the most of any player at a single grand slam in history, leading him to be dubbed 'The King of Clay' at Roland-Garros.
Nadal's 112 French Open wins are the most of any man at a single major in the Open Era, while his 14-0 record in Roland-Garros finals is the best recorded by anyone at an event in that span.
Nadal is the latest of the 'Big Four' to announce their departure from the sport after Andy Murray earlier this year, along with Roger Federer in 2022, with Djokovic the only one still playing.
Lorenzo, a five-time world champion who retired from motorsport five years ago, shared his experiences since leaving the track and what the future has in store for Nadal.
"Everyone experiences [retirement] in a different way," Lorenzo told Stats Perform at Festival dello Sport in Trento, Italy.
"It has always been said that many athletes after retirement go into a kind of mini-depression and are a bit sad.
"But in my case, it has been the opposite, I have lived five fantastic years. I have really enjoyed the freedom of being able to choose how and where to use my time.
"And I hope that Rafa is very happy because he deserves everything in this world for what he has sacrificed and for the great example that he has shown as an athlete to the whole society."
Nadal's first grand slam title came at the 2005 edition of Roland-Garros, while the 2022 season saw him triumph in the French capital and at the Australian Open.
He is the only player to win at least one major in 15 different calendar years, and between 2005 and 2014, he never ended a season without a grand slam title.
Nadal finished 13 different years in the top two of the ATP World Rankings, more than any other player throughout the Open Era.
The 38-year-old will bring his storied career to a close on home soil in Malaga, where he will be part of Spain's Davis Cup team which also includes Carlos Alcaraz.
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