Bottas admits Mercedes still need to improve ahead of qualifying

Valtteri Bottas has admitted that Mercedes still need to improve ahead of qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix. Mercedes has found themselves on the wrong side of a power deficit to Ferrari as of late and the Finn believes there is still work to be done before a crucial hour for the team.

Speaking to media after practice on Friday, Bottas admitted that the conditions hadn't helped Mercedes' preparation for the race weekend.

“The conditions out there were quite mixed today with heavy rain in the morning and a dry afternoon,” he said.  

“We did only one run in the morning on the Intermediate tyres; Monza is a tricky place in the wet as it is difficult to find the right braking points. We seemed competitive in the wet compared to the cars who were out in similar conditions.

“Luckily the afternoon was dry and we could get some proper running in; the long runs were especially important as the race is expected to be dry. As expected, Ferrari seemed very quick in the dry. It’s not going to be easy, but we still have a few things we can improve for qualifying.

“Compared to Spa, the car felt better in the slow corners which is a good step in the right direction.”

In practice three it was Ferrari who again had the upper hand on their competition with Sebastian Vettel just beating out Lewis Hamilton by 0.081s ahead of qualifying in what could be a turning point in the 2018 championship battle.