Breaking news
Formula 1 Russian GP
Bottas doesn't believe Ferrari's Sochi deficit is "real"
Valtteri Bottas says he doesn't believe Ferrari's deficit to Mercedes in Friday practice for Formula 1's Russian Grand Prix is "real".
Valentin Khorounzhiy
Edited: Sep 28, 2018, 5:40 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Bottas was second to Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton in second practice, the faster of the two Friday sessions, whereas Ferrari ended the day behind not only the Silver Arrows but also Red Bull.
Mercedes has won every Russian GP since the power-sensitive Sochi track joined the F1 calendar in 2014 - but it was expected to face a stern challenge from Ferrari this weekend given the gains the Scuderia has made in the engine department.
And despite the results on Friday, Bottas was not convinced that Mercedes holds a decisive advantage over its rival.
Asked whether the initial gap to Ferrari at Sochi was representative, Bottas said: “I don’t believe it is real. I think it is going to be very close tomorrow.
“Normally they have been very strong in the straight lines but today they didn’t seem to run full power or something, so we will see tomorrow.
“I think it was a good day for us, at least on paper we seem to be quick but it is only Friday and we saw Ferrari not really giving everything they have with their car.”
When that same question was put to teammate Hamilton, the championship leader said: “I really have no idea.
“My strategist will have a better idea of what they are doing with fuel and all those sorts of things, but I don’t know if they didn’t get [clean] laps today.”
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, who ended the day in fifth and had a spin in second practice, suggested that the SF71H genuinely lacked pace on Friday.
“We tried everything today and obviously we were not quick enough,” he conceded.
“The car didn’t feel very good and didn’t come together so [it's] not a surprise if other people are faster.
“We need to find the reasons and hopefully come out of the box strong tomorrow.”
The German said Ferrari was trailing its rivals in both qualifying and race trim.
“We looked quite far away from the rest of the field, I think struggling a bit for one lap - but also in the long run we went through our tyres a bit harder and quicker than the rest.
“It wasn't a particularly clean run in the end, but still good enough [to be representative].
“We struggled with the tyres with or without traffic, certainly the traffic doesn't help but I think we have some catching up to do.”
Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari SF71H
Photo by: Jerry Andre / Sutton Images
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Magnussen's new Haas deal runs through 2020
Next article Ocon could have Force India third driver role in 2019
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Valentin Khorounzhiy
WTCR's April opener cancelled due to coronavirus
WTCR
WTCR
Hungaroring
WTCR's April opener cancelled due to coronavirus
Australian GP issues update on nine F1 paddock coronavirus tests
Formula 1
Formula 1
Australian GP
Australian GP issues update on nine F1 paddock coronavirus tests
Motorsport Games unveils 15 disciplines for 2020
General
General
Motorsport Games unveils 15 disciplines for 2020
More from
Valtteri Bottas
Unwell Kimi Antonelli skips F1 Mexico GP media day
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
Unwell Kimi Antonelli skips F1 Mexico GP media day
Yet another DNF for Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas: ‘Sometimes we don’t quite understand it’
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
Yet another DNF for Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas: ‘Sometimes we don’t quite understand it’
You Ask The Questions: Valtteri Bottas
Formula 1
Canadian GP
You Ask The Questions: Valtteri Bottas
More from
Mercedes
Why “ignorance is a superpower” for Kimi Antonelli, according to Daniel Ricciardo
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
9 h
Why “ignorance is a superpower” for Kimi Antonelli, according to Daniel Ricciardo
George Russell predicts key Ferrari "advantage" at F1 Mexican GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
14 h
George Russell predicts key Ferrari "advantage" at F1 Mexican GP
Latest news
What's behind "absolute nonsense" Oliver Bearman contract rumours
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
48 min
What's behind "absolute nonsense" Oliver Bearman contract rumours
F1 Mexico GP: Follow FP2 with live timing
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
1 h
F1 Mexico GP: Follow FP2 with live timing
F1 Mexico GP: Charles Leclerc beats Kimi Antonelli to top FP1
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
3 h
F1 Mexico GP: Charles Leclerc beats Kimi Antonelli to top FP1
What Fernando Alonso is getting wrong about F1 driving standards
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
4 h
What Fernando Alonso is getting wrong about F1 driving standards
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe