'Mercedes seems unbalanced and looks lost'

Mercedes aren't used to another team challenging them for the title, but Damon Hill expressed his surprise at how Mercedes are struggling this season on the F1 Nation Podcast.

With Red Bull Racing now faster on a sustained basis, this creates a very different set of pressures for the Mercedes team. "The tremendous speed of Red Bull Racing-Honda, coupled with the performances of Max Verstappen and, most recently, Sergio Pérez, it has all made us see a Mercedes racing team that seems out of balance."

The former world champion continued: "I've never seen Mercedes like today [GP of France]. I mean, how many times in recent years have we had the situation where the specialists of this successful team seemed at a loss, both in terms of set-up and race strategy?"

Mercedes look lost

Before the GP of France, Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton swapped chassis. Damon Hill continued: "I also found it interesting how the chassis were swapped between the drivers at Mercedes. Everyone assumes Hamilton is always stronger than Bottas. If the Finn is faster, then something must be wrong."

"In Baku, the people at Mercedes were talking about how they had tried everything in terms of set-up and had gone round in circles. But they couldn't find the speed of Red Bull Racing. They looked lost. Then you start chasing things that aren't there and it's easy to get lost. For me, the change of chassis was a sign that they were grasping at straws in their search," he concluded.