F1 French GP: Former Renault F1 driver Jolyon Palmer claims Mercedes has shown immense improvements and their ‘bulletproof’ reliability makes George Russell and Lewis Hamilton ‘underdogs’ for victory at the upcoming French GP. Follow Formula 1 and French GP LIVE updates with InsideSport.IN
Palmer believes at the circuit Paul Ricard Mercedes can announce themselves as a contender for race wins. “We’re halfway through a season where few would have expected Mercedes to have barely had a sniff of victory so far and have a best finish of third,” Palmer said.
“The Silver Arrows, prodigiously strong for the past decade. They built a car with the all-new regulations that seem to have some fundamental flaws. Its level of bouncing has meant the team have been chasing their tail trying to troubleshoot their problems. Incredibly, given the performance of their car, the team have still managed to finish a race weekend on the podium more often than not so far,” Palmer added.
This is the perspective of ex-Formula 1 racer Jolyon Palmer, who accepts the Silver Arrows are nearing to race at the front once again. The group has been quite far off the speed, having failed to nail their W13 challenger for the 2022 season in the midst of a wrap of technical rule changes.
Yet, they have been gradually and consistently gaining ground as the year has unfolded. However they are as yet unequipped for truly testing Red Bull and Ferrari, they are far nearer than they were previously.
Palmer credited the striking reliability of the W13 for their solid outcomes regardless of a general absence of speed. But, presently accepts Mercedes are prepared to contend without having to rely on failures from Red Bull and Ferrari.
First 7 races, 3 podiums. Last 4 races, 4 podiums. 🏆
We’re making progress 💪 Let’s keep it going, Team! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/95uGdIveCz
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) July 14, 2022
“There are signs now, though, that they are getting on top of it. They are merging back towards being genuine front-runners once more. It’s better to look at Hamilton’s race pace for the genuine pace of the Merc in Austria. Once again it looked on Sunday to be a fairly close match to the dominant Ferrari of Charles Leclerc after the seven-time champ hit clear air. This is why he managed to overcut a string of midfielders,” Palmer further added.
“The French Grand Prix up next is one of the smoothest circuits. It is made up of predominantly medium and high-speed corners. Mercedes have always gone well there in the past. It surely poses their best chance of fighting for victory on merit so far this year,” Palmer concluded.
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