Bottas on the new Mercedes: "It could still be better"

Valtteri Bottas set the fastest lap of the morning session with a 1:17.313, just enough to beat second-placed Sergio Perez. The Mercedes driver will be hunting down his teammate Lewis Hamilton for the F1 world championship in 2020. 

Bottas reports there were no issues on the new Mercedes car, but insists there's plenty to work on. The Finnish driver handed the car over to Hamilton who will run the second four hours. 

No issues 

"It's going as we planned so that's always good. There's no issues and the car feels good. It obviously could still be better but it's been a good starting point," Bottas reported to Sky Sports. 

"It [Mercedes car] has weaknesses. This track is good for testing because there's all sort of corners. Balance wise, we have some things to work on but that's why we're here." 

Hamilton won't be the only driver that Bottas will need to challenge during the 2020 F1 season. He will also have Aston Martin Red Bull Racing and Ferrari to deal with when it comes to race days. Standing trackside, he assesses the performance of his rivals. 

"It's so early days and it's difficult to say. Those two [Red Bull and Ferrari] will be challenging no doubt. I think Red Bull, their car seems pretty good and Ferrari as well but testing is very difficult to say. We'll see for real in Melbourne," he added.