After suffering in the first third of the 2022 season with excessive rebounding and a general lack of competitiveness, Mercedes has taken a step forward in recent weeks.
Hamilton took his third consecutive podium finish at the Austrian GP, at a circuit that is considered less favorable to Mercedes than Silverstone.
His teammate, Russell , finished behind Hamilton in fourth place for the second time in three races, after retiring early after a crash at the start in Great Britain.
Both Hamilton and Russell looked on course for a strong result in Austrian qualifying, until they both crashed out in Q3.
That led Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff to claim that Mercedes is only two to three tenths of a second short of “pure performance” compared to its rivals.
Red Bull principal Christian Horner acknowledged that Mercedes will remain a threat at next week’s French Grand Prix as it appears to have overcome its porpoising issues.
“We expect them to be quick at Paul Ricard,” Horner said. “They’re showing glimpses of being there, or close by.”
“The last two races have been pretty good for them and I think there has been no sign whatsoever of porpoising so they seem to be slowly getting back into the fight.”
Mercedes appears to have lost too much ground in the early part of 2022 to claim either title, and is already 122 points behind Red Bull in the constructors’ championship. However, with 237 points, the Brackley team is not far behind Ferrari, which is 66 points behind the Germans in second place.
Therefore, Horner hopes that Mercedes “is a contender” since, if they confirm their step forward, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell could start taking valuable points from Red Bull or Ferrari on a regular basis.
“I think they will be a contender,” he acknowledged. “They keep adding points steadily.”
“I’m not sure how far away they are in the constructors’ or drivers’ championships at the moment for them, but you know, sometimes having more cars on the line is a good thing. Other times it can be a bad thing.
“But I think for the fans it’s great to have six cars competing for wins.”
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