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Charles Leclerc reckons he expected Mercedes to finally struggle after a period of dominance – but refused to rule out the idea of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell fighting at the front later this year.

After several years of domination, Mercedes are some way off the pace so far this year. Their struggles to find performance have left them adrift of Red Bull and Ferrari in the constructors' standings after the first seven races of the season, with no signs yet that they will be able to close that gap.

Russell has managed to find an incredible level of consistency, finishing in the top five in all seven races so far this year to score 84 points despite having a car which is not as competitive as he might have expected it to be in his debut campaign with the team. Hamilton, by contrast has managed 50 points from an inconsistent run of results.

The W13 car, with no sidepods in a bold move from the aerodynamics team in Brackley, has been one of the worst affected by the 'porpoising' effect that has plagued many teams this year. With the return of ground effect this season, the bouncing at high speeds comes at the cost of vital downforce, leading to slower lap times.

Referencing Mercedes' decline this season, Leclerc told motorsport.com : "I think