Valtteri Bottas has stated that it is too early to call the shots on the outcome of tomorrow's race, as Mercedes and Ferrari look to be very close. There were some doubts that the battle would not be quite as compact as it has been so far, due to the level of detail in Mercedes' aerodynamic upgrades.
However, with just half a tenth separating the two fastest Mercedes and Ferrari, it appears that the fight is still on. Bottas couldn't make it onto the front row but insists that he is still in contention for the win tomorrow despite the threat of Ferrari.
"I've done some good things from P3 before," Bottas said. "Everything is still wide open. We're happy with the race pace and upbeat for tomorrow. For most of the weekend we've had the edge on Ferrari but in Q3 they raised their game. For me starting the day with the engine change and moving back to the old engine, I was always going to be on the back foot.
"I really struggled through qualifying with the rear stability of the car, so it was difficult to find a good rhythm. It wasn't one of my best qualifying sessions but I'm happy with the job that the team has done. You could see Lewis was very strong and quick today."
Fergal Walsh
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Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing
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Will be very interesting, Bottas needs to bounce back from quali