Mercedes doesn’t seem to have recovered from the terrible Monaco Grand Prix as the Silver Arrows struggle to find pace in Baku. The team was nowhere near the pace of rivals Ferrari and Red Bull. Valtteri Bottas acknowledges the team’s difficulties but hopes to improve by the qualifying round.
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In FP1, Bottas managed to be tenth fastest, while team-mate Lewis Hamilton took 7th place in the time table. And FP2 was no better, as Bottas fell back in timing in 16th place and Hamilton found himself in 10th place.
Valtteri Bottas admits that Mercedes wasn’t the best
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After the meeting, Valtteri said: “Yes, I think a little is not the right word. It was very tricky for us today, there was clearly a lack of pace. It feels like its all-over grip, you know, the balance isn’t that far off. “
Formula 1 F1 – Spanish Grand Prix – Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain – May 8, 2021 Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes during the press conference after qualifying in third place FIA / handout via REUTERS
“Okay, the car is a bit unpredictable. It feels like a lack of grip and sliding around. Yeah, so I think it’s going to be a long night tonight, ”Bottas concluded.
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How does Hamilton feel about the performance in Baku?
The seven-time world champion didn’t have a great Friday session either. Hamilton was 7th in the first session and couldn’t improve in the second and ended up in 10th place at the end of the day. However, Hamilton believes he had a pretty good day in Baku.
Lewis said, “In all honesty, I generally had a really good day; It was clean, I did all the laps we needed, there were no real mistakes … but only slowly. “There is simply no more time. We are definitely quite a chunk down there. “
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Formula 1 F1 – Formula 1 – Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Baku City Circuit, Baku, Azerbaijan – June 3, 2021 Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes during the pool press conference on REUTERS / Francois Nel
“And I think everyone is going to scratch their heads and look at the data to see how we can improve,” concluded Hamilton.
Mercedes must find a quick fix to save their weekend before it gets any worse or the Monaco nightmares will haunt them. Do you think the Silver Arrow will improve in light of high-intensity qualifying just hours away? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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