Former Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya has said that it is going to be tough for Mercedes to turn things around in the Drivers' and Constructors' title races.

The last few rounds of the F1 season have been pretty damaging for the reigning champions, with Red Bull winning the last five Grands Prix straight, and Max Verstappen taking the chequered flag first in four of them.

Indeed, the Dutchman now has over a win his pocket in the Drivers' standings points-wise compared to Lewis Hamilton, whilst Red Bull are well ahead of Mercedes at the moment in the Constructors' championship.

Certainly, Red Bull are looking very strong right now and Montoya is of the opinion that it's now going to be very hard for the Mercs to turn things around in the remaining 12 races - provided we find a replacement for the Australian GP:

“In my view it will be very difficult for Mercedes,” the ex-Williams and McLaren driver told Motorsport.com.

“At this stage, Max and Red Bull have clearly gained momentum. Max is doing great, he’s there week in week out. I don’t really see how they are going to beat him.

“The only aspect that still speaks in favour of Mercedes is that they will get upgrades at Silverstone. Hopefully that step is big enough to get closer to Red Bull, but I honestly don’t think it will be enough. I don’t see how they can turn this around.”

The British Grand Prix, as Montoya alludes to, is up next the weekend after this one coming, and in the past, Silverstone has been a circuit where Mercedes have enjoyed success thanks to their impressive power unit.

The same was said for the French Grand Prix this season, however, and Red Bull still won so we should be set for another indicator as to just whether this title race will remain tight or start to be runaway with by the Honda-powered Bulls.