Mercedes' performance improvements and "bulletproof" reliability make Lewis Hamilton and George Russell "dark horses" for victory at the French Grand Prix.
That is the view of ex- Formula 1 racer Jolyon Palmer, who believes the Silver Arrows are close to racing at the front again. The team has been a long way off the pace, having failed to nail their car design for the 2022 season amid a swathe of technical rule changes.
But they have been slowly and steadily been making progress as the year has unfolded. Though they are still incapable of genuinely challenging Red Bull and Ferrari, they are far closer than they were before.
