Mercedes tipped to ‘mix it’ with Red Bull and Ferrari at French Grand Prix

Mercedes have been on the podium in the last four races as the Silver Arrows target a first victory of 2022 in France this weekend

(Getty Images)

Mercedes have the opportunity to be “in the mix” with Red Bull and Ferrari this weekend at the French Grand Prix, according to former F1 driver Anthony Davidson.

After a tough start to the season caused by porposing and bouncing in their 2022 car, Mercedes have earned podiums in the last four races with Lewis Hamilton securing three and George Russell one - but are yet to achieve a win.

Toto Wolff’s team are still third in the Constructors’ Championship, 122 points behind Red Bull and 66 behind Ferrari, but Davidson believes the high-speed nature of Circuit Paul Ricard will offer Mercedes a good opportunity to get their W13 in its “happy place.”

“It’s definitely a long shot, but I think if there’s any circuit you could choose from this season, it would have been Silverstone and Paul Ricard, where Mercedes would have a chance to mix it with the top two teams - Red Bull and Ferrari - on genuine pace,” Davidson told Sky Sports News.

“Coming off the back of Austria, where they had a good solid race - unfortunately qualifying didn’t really go their way with both cars crashing out - but the pace looked pretty good. Not on the same level as Red Bull and Ferrari, but traditionally that’s been quite a weak circuit for them.

“Bearing in mind what we saw at Silverstone, really strong race pace there, Paul Ricard - a nice smooth circuit which should suit the car, high grip situation as well, high degradation on the tyres, all of these elements coming together for Mercedes should mean, by rights, that the car should be in its happy place.”

Davidson also made note of how Hamilton seems to have re-discovered his touch this season and is “getting into his stride” after third-placed finishes in Montreal, Silverstone and Spielberg - after Russell’s impressive early-season form in an under-performing car.

“George is driving a brilliant season so far, only a few hiccups, but that’s what you expect in a first season at a top team,” Davidson added. “There’s a lot of pressure there for George and he’s learning from the master, isn’t he? What a privileged position to be in for George.

Lewis Hamilton pictured alongside team-mate George Russell (Mercedes-AMG/PA Media) (PA Media)

“It’s definitely raised an eyebrow from Lewis I think, seeing George’s approach to this season and how he’s adapted so well to these new cars. But now that the car is becoming more familiar to the car that Lewis drove last year and the years before, I feel like that he’s now coming into his stride a bit more and they’re not trying so many drastic changes to the car.

“I feel like now they’re narrowing down on where they need to be and not going so outside of the window of setup options, I feel like Lewis is now getting more into his stride and starting in the last couple of races to really show his quality again.”