b07b6084d6c8acfdbcc1116ac1a8c26ae4cda57a

Bottas: "It's going to be very close, so we'll have to keep pushing"

20:00, 28 Sep 2018

byJake Williams-Smith

Valtteri Bottas says he is expecting a close fight with Ferrari for the Russian Grand Prix victory. Friday running suggested that Mercedes would enjoy a pace advantage during the race over their Italian rivals but the Finn remained sceptical of such an advantage existing on Sunday.

Speaking to the media after Friday practice, Bottas admitted that he was happy with the feel in the car and the set-up choices Mercedes had made. He did however express his doubt over the half a second gap Mercedes had over the nearest Ferrari in Sebastian Vettel, who finished behind both Red Bull's down in fifth.

“The initial feeling of the car was good; however, there's still work to do,” he said.

“It's so difficult to get a perfect set-up for each corner on this track, because the balance is so different throughout the lap.

“We brought some aerodynamic updates to the car that worked well and added more grip; we'll see if that's going to be enough for the weekend.

“It seemed like Ferrari weren't really showing everything they have, so they will probably be stronger tomorrow. I think it's going to be very close, so we'll have to keep pushing.”

Bottas finished second practice P2, 0.1s behind his teammate Lewis Hamilton.