Breaking news
Formula 1
Bottas says Ferrari's performance step "unusual"
Mercedes drivers Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton are wary of the straightline speed advantage Ferrari could have in the Chinese Grand Prix after its "unusual" performance step in Bahrain.
Scott Mitchell Adam Cooper
Published: Apr 11, 2019, 9:47 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Bottas leads the drivers' championship from Hamilton, with Mercedes leading the constructors' fight following one-two finishes in Australia and Bahrain.
However, Mercedes was surprised by the straightline speed deficit to Ferrari that emerged in Bahrain, where its rival should have won before its race imploded.
Read Also:
While Bottas was keen to point out that Mercedes' superior reliability won Hamilton the Bahrain GP, he admitted: "We obviously know we have work to do and it was an unusual step in terms of pace for Ferrari from the first to second race.
"They obviously had something wrong in Melbourne and maybe that [the Bahrain form] is now the picture we have. If that is going to continue we don't know.
"We definitely know the areas we can improve and there are further upgrades to the car here. Hopefully that can make us stronger, but it is difficult to say more than that."
Ferrari's straightline speed could be a powerful weapon in China, on a track with a very long back straight.
Bottas said: "It definitely can make the difference. It is a track with very long straights and straightline power and speed is really important here.
"There are corners as well, but we know they are going to be strong coming into this weekend.
"Hopefully we have our strengths in other places, but definitely we can see the area where we need to push forward with the development."
Mercedes estimated during the Bahrain weekend that it was losing "almost five tenths" on the straights.
However, Charles Leclerc's late engine problem and Sebastian Vettel's spin while fighting Hamilton consigned Ferrari to a second straight defeat.
It means Ferrari already trails Mercedes by 39 points in the constructors' championship.
Asked if he felt Mercedes would need to rely on good fortune to beat Ferrari or do so in a straight fight, Hamilton said: "I don't really know at the moment.
"The first few races of every season are really difficult to judge. We didn't expect the performance we had at the first race, we didn't expect to see what we saw at the second race. It's only the third race. It feels like it's been a long time already."
Hamilton admitted the back straight "might serve them really well here".
"I hope that we don't have to rely on reliability, and I hope we have a much closer race," he added. I think qualifying was OK in the last race, but in the race there was a big delta. This is a great track to have a real race, so the closer it is, the better."
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 Mercedes introduces new front wing endplate for Chinese GP
Next article Ricciardo trying to be "too clever" with set-up
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Scott Mitchell
Alfa Romeo must do better in "chaotic" races - Vasseur
Formula 1
Formula 1
Alfa Romeo must do better in "chaotic" races - Vasseur
Honda: Verstappen relationship 'like a young Senna'
Formula 1
Formula 1
Honda: Verstappen relationship 'like a young Senna'
Key team personnel shouldn't be F1 boss - Ferrari
Formula 1
Formula 1
Key team personnel shouldn't be F1 boss - Ferrari
More from
Valtteri Bottas
Cadillac’s F1 brakes are still a problem: ‘I had to lift and coast on lap two’
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Cadillac’s F1 brakes are still a problem: ‘I had to lift and coast on lap two’
Valtteri Bottas completes three-day jungle ride to Singapore GP: "Your mind starts to play games at night"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Valtteri Bottas completes three-day jungle ride to Singapore GP: "Your mind starts to play games at night"
You Ask The Questions: Valtteri Bottas
Formula 1
Canadian GP
You Ask The Questions: Valtteri Bottas
More from
Ferrari
Ferrari promotes F2 racer to F1 reserve driver role
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Ferrari promotes F2 racer to F1 reserve driver role
The six drivers doing double duty in Portimao GTWCE and Barcelona WEC this weekend
WEC
WEC
Barcelona
The six drivers doing double duty in Portimao GTWCE and Barcelona WEC this weekend
Latest news
WEC Barcelona: Genesis secures maiden series pole from Toyota
WEC
WEC WEC
Barcelona
57 min
WEC Barcelona: Genesis secures maiden series pole from Toyota
Five-time IndyCar champion, first-time Indy NXT driver: Alex Palou tops IMS road course test
Indy NXT
IndL Indy NXT 1 h
Five-time IndyCar champion, first-time Indy NXT driver: Alex Palou tops IMS road course test
Gabriel Bortoleto on Kimi Antonelli and Isack Hadjar's F1 success: 'Let's see where we are in 20 years'
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
2 h
Gabriel Bortoleto on Kimi Antonelli and Isack Hadjar's F1 success: 'Let's see where we are in 20 years'
Nicki Thiim's cheeky F1 jab: "Max Verstappen just wants to drive a proper race car!"
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
WCEE GT World Challenge Europe Endurance 2 h
Nicki Thiim's cheeky F1 jab: "Max Verstappen just wants to drive a proper race car!"
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