MONACO (AP) — It used to be a case of guessing the winning margin for Mercedes in the constructors' championship, and a toss-up between which of its two drivers would win the Formula One title. Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix clearly underlined how Mercedes is not the force it was, with Lewis Hamilton, who has won two of his three world titles with Mercedes, finishing seventh and new recruit Valtteri Bottas taking fourth place. Because we can't be in this position again. In turn, this affects the performance of the tires, as was shown in Thursday's second practice session when Mercedes botched a switch to the faster ultra-soft compound and failed to get either driver into the seven quickest times in P2. Last year, Mercedes finished nearly 300 points ahead of Red Bull in the constructors' championship, winning 19 of 21 races as Rosberg pipped Hamilton to the title before dramatically announcing his retirement from F1. With new regulations designed to make cars wider, heavier and faster this year, Ferrari seems to have worked wonders in the factory while Mercedes appears to be going backward.