Red Bull technical chief Adrian Newey admits it is becoming more difficult by the season to extract that extra bit out of the cars.
The current regulations were introduced in 2009 and the FIA has once again opted to make only one or two tweaks to the rules for next year, leaving most teams with a struggle to come up with new ways to improve their cars.
"It is increasingly difficult because there are no real regulations changes compared to this year and it will be the fifth season since the 2009 rule changes," Newey told Autosport.
"The field is converging and you can see how competitive it is in the fact that we had eight different winners this year."
The 2012 season marked one of the most competitive seasons in F1 in a long time with Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, Mercedes and Williams all tasting victory.
Newey feels it highlights the importance of gaining the smallest of margins over your rivals.
"It is a demonstration of how critical it is now," he said. "Each race, you have so many variables that can cause swings between the cars.
"The tyres have been talked about a lot and they are important and each car will work its tyres slightly differently compared to its competitors.
"Sometimes, a particular track layout and temperature might suit a particular car more than its immediate rivals.
"Whether it's a predominantly high-speed corner circuit like Silverstone or a slow-speed corner circuit like Abu Dhabi, for instance.
"Those factors mean that it has been difficult for one team to dominate."
