Red Bull's Christian Horner believes it will not be long before we see the Mercedes team back challenging up near the front of the grid once more.

The Silver Arrows have struggled for performance this season, with the porpoise effect hitting their car harder than most on the grid, causing them to compromise car set-up and then lose lap time because of that.

Indeed, we've therefore seen them behind Ferrari and Red Bull in the pecking order considerably this season, which is stark contrast to previous years where Merc have been the team to beat.

That said, though, the Mercedes team is obviously working hard to get back on track and Friday's practice performance at the Miami Grand Prix, which saw George Russell top FP2, showed that when the car is hooked up it can certainly be quick.

Of course, qualy saw them drop back a little bit once more with Russell starting Sunday's race in P12 and Lewis Hamilton in P6 but, even so, Horner believes it won't be long before we've got Mercedes back fighting for wins:

“It’s different competition. You’re writing Toto off, but his car was quickest [on Friday] – there’s plenty of time for him to get back in the show.

“Last year there was a lot of needle, there was a lot going on, off-track as well as on-track, whereas this year seems much more focused about what's going on on-track. I think the racing's been great between Charles and Max.

george russell miami mercedes

MIAMI, FLORIDA - MAY 06: George Russell of Great Britain driving the (63) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team W13 on track during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Miami at the Miami International Autodrome on May 06, 2022 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

“The first four races have been epic, and if that continues through the season, inevitably it’s going to boil over at some point as it gets more competitive and the stakes get higher in the second half of the year. But certainly, what we’ve seen so far has been very respectful racing – hard racing but fair racing. I think you’re going to see Mercedes joining that party fairly soon.”

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