F1 pundit feels Mercedes is a runaway favorite to finish 2nd in the championship this season

F1 pundit Scott Mitchell-Malm recently discussed how Mercedes could bounce back from a bad start to the 2023 F1 season and finish second in the constructors' championship.

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were quite strong in the Spanish GP, as both of them stood on the podium. Furthermore, the new development route the team has taken has shown some positive results.

Speaking on The Race F1 podcast, Scott Mitchell-Malm initially claimed that Mercedes could end up in second place in the constructors' championship at the end of 2023.

Furthermore, he explained how there is a huge gap between Red Bull and the rest of the grid, which Mercedes could potentially fill.

"I think Mercedes will finish second in the constructors' championship," Scott Mitchell-Malm said. "I'd be stunned if Mercedes is not second in the standings this year. It's more about what it can achieve between now and the end of the season and get to a point where maybe it fights Red Bull on merit."

"There is a chasm between Red Bull and the rest, and Mercedes bridged that gap in a way this weekend that was very notable because Aston Martin and Ferrari underperformed," he added.

Since the constructors' championship lead has already been locked up by Red Bull, the F1 pundit laid out how the fight for second place will go down between Mercedes, Ferrari, and Aston Martin.

"But there is a big, big gap to develop into. Mercedes' goal has to be that it out develops the other two to the point where it chips away at that gap more than them. So it becomes Red Bull, big gap, Mercedes, gap, Ferrari, and Aston Martin; that will be the aim. And if they do that, then Mercedes will be first in line to challenge Red Bull if and when Red Bull slips up, changes focus to 2024, or whatever," Scott Mitchell-Malm concluded.

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Lewis Hamilton urges Mercedes to be on par with Red Bull next year

Lewis Hamilton is determined to challenge Red Bull in the 2024 F1 season after his Mercedes team started to move in the right direction by changing the concept of their 2023 car.

The seven-time world champion explained how Mercedes needs to keep working to improve its car this year and take the fight to Red Bull at the start of next season.

"I think we are going in the right direction and I know we have something in the pipeline moving forwards. I'm hoping at least by the end of the year it would be great if we could challenge them. For me, I'm more focused on making sure that we have the car next year to challenge them from day one," Hamilton said.

After two podium finishes in the Spanish GP, Mercedes is now in second place in the constructors' championship.