"Bottas' first lap in Baku was the most powerful statement he's made at Mercedes"

Sky Sports F1 pundit and former Formula 1 driver Martin Brundle thinks the opening lap at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix was the strongest statement Valtteri Bottas has made in his years at Mercedes, as the Finn defended aggressively to hold off teammate Lewis Hamilton.

Bottas started the race on pole position but came under pressure from Hamilton right from the start, with the Brit having the inside line on the first two turns. Bottas held on, though, with exits on both corners keeping him right alongside the five-time champion. The duo left each other space, however, and Bottas came out on top after getting a great exit onto the back straight.

This left Brundle rather impressed.

"The first lap of the Baku race was the most powerful statement @ValtteriBottas has made since joining Mercedes," Brundle posted on his Twitter.