Palmer: 'Good cards for Red Bull, but Mercedes has it in their own hands'

Former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer is impressed by Max Verstappen and the performance of Red Bull Racing. Although the favourites for the next five races seem to be known already, Palmer believes that nothing is fixed in Formula 1 at the moment.

In Mexico and Brazil, the Red Bulls will do well and in the last three races, Mercedes can count on a better result. These predictions don't tell Palmer much yet. Anything can happen in Mexico and Brazil, but in particular, Red Bull Racing's special form could cause surprises at the end of the season.

The teams are fighting it out for the constructors' championship, with Mercedes leading by just 23 points. At the same time, Max Verstappen leads the championship by twelve points over Lewis Hamilton.

The favorites roles seem meaningless at the moment. At The Chequered Flag podcast, Palmer says: "People thought Mercedes would win easily at Circuit of the Americas because they did before. Red Bull have only improved there in recent years. The fact that they are winning now shows their progression because they are also winning races now that they never won before."

Last year Red Bull showed that they can also win in the famous Mercedes terrain; Abu Dhabi. These are Palmer's two reasons why Red Bull have very good cards up their sleeve for the upcoming races. Yet the Brit still thinks Mercedes has it in their own hands.

Palmer: "They can fully focus on the last three races. If they win those, they should be fine."