Did Hamilton make the right choice with De Vries? 'Definitely a long shot'

The chances of Mercedes for the French Grand Prix are high. The team has always performed well at Paul Ricard in the past. Anthony Davidson thinks that Mercedes will be able to compete with Red Bull Racing and Ferrari.

After Mercedes' promising race pace at Silverstone, expectations are high for France. In Austria, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were unable to keep pace with the top teams after the W13 looked fast during qualifying. However, both drivers crashed so they could not show their actual pace.

Nyck de Vries will be in action during the first free practice session in Hamilton's car at the Paul Ricard circuit. This season, Formula 1 drivers are obliged to give a training session to a young driver. The Briton himself has chosen the circuit where De Vries can take over his seat. Analyst Davidson says this is a good decision as Mercedes will be strong in France. It is not a disaster if Hamilton misses a practice session.

'Mercedes can mix with Red Bull and Ferrari'

"It’s definitely a long shot, but I think if there’s any circuit you could choose from this season, it would have been Silverstone and probably Paul Ricard, the circuit we’re going to next, where Mercedes would have a chance to mix in with the top two teams Red Bull and Ferrari on genuine pace", he says on Sky Sports.

That the Mercedes car was not as fast as the Ferrari's and Red Bull's came as no surprise. The Red Bull Ring has not been a strong track for the team in the past. In France, however, it should be a different story.

"Coming off the back from Austria where they had a good, solid race. Not on the same level as Red Bull and Ferrari, but traditionally it has been quite a weak circuit for them. Baring in mind what we saw at Silverstone, really strong race pace there. Paul Ricard, a nice, smooth circuit which should suit the car. High grip situation as well, high degradation on the tyres. All of these elements coming together for Mercedes should mean, by rights, that the car should be in its happy place", says the Sky analyst.