Bottas declares Williams “can be strong” in Baku

Following his first podium of the season in Canada, Bottas believes Williams can again make full use of its Mercedes engines to record another strong result.

He ended Friday’s practice sessions fourth quickest.

“I think we can be strong here,” said Bottas. “It was a good day, and I always like learning new circuits – I really find it cool to find the secrets, step by step.

“It’s a very interesting track, a good challenge for the car and the driver. It is a fast circuit, but it still has a lot of corners in Sector 2, we tried different levels of downforce today.

“I don’t think it’s the best track for our car, but it is a good one. The driveability is not quite there yet. I wasn’t 100 percent pleased, I’m sure we can make it a lot better.

“No problem with the tyres, I don’t think we’ll see too many pitstops.

“The track is still improving a lot,” added Bottas. “We are learning all the time about the track and the setup.

“I really enjoyed today, it’s a cool circuit; very demanding in many aspects. Tomorrow I’m sure we can find a lot more.”

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