Valtteri Bottas has admitted Mercedes are ahead of Williams but it remains to be seen whether the gap has increased or decreased compared to last season.
Rosberg surprised the Formula One paddock after setting a 1:22.782. The German’s time was over a second quicker than Bottas on the same tyre and nearly eight tenths faster than the previous best set by Bottas’ Williams team-mate Felipe Massa.
In an interview with ESPNF1, Bottas said: “It’s pretty quick,” he said. “I think everyone was a bit surprised. Everyone knew they were quick, but they were very quick [today]. But that’s how it is.
“I don’t know how much fuel they ran or how much [performance] they took out of the engine, but for sure they are still ahead [of Williams]. That’s the fact at this point of the season. But how much and whether it is more or less than last year, I can’t say at the moment.”
Bottas said the team will bring a raft of upgrades to the season opener in Australia which takes place in two weeks time, in a bid to close the gap to Mercedes.
“We still have some improvements to come for Melbourne, aero stuff maybe. That’s when we have to hope they work because we won’t get a chance to test them until Friday practice, but I’m confident because we saw all of last year that 90% of the bits we put on the car were working as expected and this year has also started in a good way with the new parts.”
Images Courtesy of Williams F1 Team
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