'What have Mercedes got up their sleeve still? Nothing at all!'

Looking back at what was another mediocre free practice session for Mercedes, former Silver Arrows driver Nico Rosberg has his advice for the German stable. He foresees a qualifying where Red Bull dominates, if Mercedes don't take drastic measures soon.

Where Mercedes drivers often seem to find extra speed when it really matters, like during the Grand Prix or qualifying, Nico Rosberg doesn't see this happening in the south of France. He is convinced that Mercedes are behind the times and won't be able to come up with anything this afternoon: "Mercedes have nothing up their sleeve at all. Of course, they can pull one or two tenths but they are miles away."

Advice for Mercedes

"If I were Mercedes," continues the former driver and expert, "If I was Mercedes, I would consider dropping some downforce off that car. Because that's what Red Bull did with Max Verstappen. Look how fast he is out there, it was phenomenal. If you drop the downforce you go less fast through the corners, therefore you put less energy into the front tyres. Less temperature which might allow you to keep good speed. And then you make up so much speed on the straight to make up the lap time. For one lap, it might be the better solution."

Rosberg also has something to say about the form of his former teammate Lewis Hamilton: "Lewis is in a really bad place at the moment. So far away from Verstappen, always two/three tenths away from Bottas. It is really difficult. Do you take a risk, or a punt just before qualifying? You don't want to be in that situation but that's probably what you have to do and just say okay let's try something."