Mercedes have been told they will win a race before the end of the 2022 season – and backed to push Ferrari for second place in the constructors' championship.
Neither Lewis Hamilton nor George Russell have really been in contention for a victory this year. And the Silver Arrows' dominance of Formula 1 looks set to come to an end after eight successive seasons at the top of the pile.
But things are looking up for the British drivers. They have both been on the podium at the last two races, while Russell put together a brilliant qualifying lap in Budapest to secure the first pole position of his career.
He wasn't able to hold on to that position, as Max Verstappen came charging through in his still superior Red Bull to take the win, while Hamilton settled for second ahead of his team-mate. But writing in his Formula 1 column, ex-driver Jolyon Palmer thinks it is only a matter of time until Mercedes are back on the top step.
"Thirteen races in and the trajectory of the team is the clearest of all on the grid they are undoubtedly edging their way towards a first victory of the season, which I predict they will have in the next handful of races," said the former Renault racer, who also thinks they can leapfrog Ferrari in the standings.
He added: "The other benefit Mercedes have is Ferrari's tendency not to maximise their potential thanks to less-than-ideal strategy calls. The gap between [Charles] Leclerc and the Mercedes duo in the championship continues to shrink after Hungary and the battle for second in the constructors’ championship is also hotting up, thanks to Mercedes’ bulletproof reliability thus far, and their superior strategy. Just 30 points separates the two teams now.
"Again, Ferrari can blame their strategy for not picking up better results than a mere fourth and sixth in Budapest. Almost inexplicably, Leclerc finished behind both Red Bulls that started 10th and 11th.
"When the strategy is straightforward Ferrari can handle it, but in a dynamic race situation as the Hungarian Grand Prix was, they seem to hit trouble and lose points to Red Bull and Mercedes.
"It all means that we head into the summer shutdown with Verstappen and Red Bull sailing away into the distance and Ferrari looking over their shoulders at Mercedes fast approaching, a feat you'd have struggled to believe after the way this season started."
