Mercedes can still play a role in the title race despite the huge leads of Max Verstappen and Red Bull, it has been claimed.
With nine races to go in 2022, it would take a remarkable turn of events to change the course of the title races. Verstappen is 80 points clear of nearest rival Charles Leclerc, while the advantage his team has over Ferrari in the constructors' championship is even greater.
Given their struggle for performance this season, Mercedes and their drivers have long been written off as contenders for silverware. And while it remains extremely unlikely, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have been tipped to still have a potential say in the outcome of the season.
Despite being unable to compete for wins on performance alone, Mercedes' bulletproof reliability means they have been able to maximise their points when others slip up. That has mostly been at the expense of Ferrari, who have suffered with a mix of reliability problems and strategy blunders.
But the Silver Arrows' recent performance improvements might serve to help the Italians. That is the view of former F1 racer David Coulthard, who thinks Mercedes will give Red Bull something else to think about in the second half of the season and force them to take one eye off Ferrari.
"I think it's been a great season so far," he told the Dutch edition of RacingNews365 . "Ferrari have had probably the quicker qualifying car but Red Bull have had more reliability and faster race car.
"This championship looked like it was going to be nip and tuck after the first few races. But of course Max has now opened up a big lead. But it's not over of course until it's technically over.
"There will be a lot of intrigue I'm sure in the remaining second half of the season. Mercedes look like they're coming back as well."
But Ferrari can only take advantage if they can fix their own issues, which have cost them dearly in recent races. Despite haemorrhaging points, however, team chief Mattia Binotto insists he has full confidence in head strategist Inaki Rueda and has so far resisted calls to replace the Spaniard.
