The team is pursuing a change to the aerodynamic philosophy that it follows, having recently in effect made a fresh start by switching its wind tunnel programme from the Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne to the Mercedes facility in Brackley.

The Silverstone outfit has upped the pace of its development this year as extra resources have enabled it to fast track new pieces to the car, whereas previously it was often hindered by financial restrictions.

A major front aero and suspension package was introduced in Barcelona, although the team struggled to optimise it.

The next major update is scheduled for before the summer break, provisionally for the German GP in late July.

"This is a big one," team principal Otmar Szafnauer told Motorsport.com. "And the aerodynamic philosophy changes as well, so it's a big thing. We have to try and get it in asap, hopefully before Hungary."

Szafnauer denied that such a mid-season change of philosophy involved taking a risk: "It's not a risk, no. I think other people are already doing what we're trying to do.

"A lot of things will change – it's a big mass flow rate of air change. Directionally it's the right thing, and it's something that will also continue to help improve the car forever."

Technical director Green said the changes are specifically to address the issues that have hampered the team at venues like Barcelona.

"It's a difficult circuit for us with respect to the balance of the car that we've had recently," he noted. "And I'm talking over the last few years, it's something we haven't been able to address fully for a while.

"But we have some new parts coming, almost a new car coming, before the summer shutdown. Hopefully we'll address some of the issues that we tend to have at this type of circuit."

Expanding on the RP19's current weaknesses he said: "It's just the length of the corners. A 180-degree corner, we tend to use too much of the tyres, we can't keep a good balance for the whole of the corner.

"You can have a good balance in the middle of the corner, or the beginning of the corner, or the end of the corner, but we can't go from beginning to end with a good balance. That's the part that we're struggling with."

Green says that the team's development rate has increased significantly this season.

"We are still playing catch up to a certain extent, but we're not stopping, that's the beauty. We're not going to stop learning now and focus on something else, all the ideas we've got keep on developing.

"They're all coming through, update after update. I don't think we'll catch up fully until the new car. Next year is a ground up new car."