Bottas confident: 'Similar setups as Lewis'

Valtteri Bottas can look back on Friday's sessions with satisfaction. In the first free practice session he finished on top, but a few hours later he finished second behind team mate Lewis Hamilton.

The Finnish driver has been doing better and better in recent weeks and continued to do so superbly this weekend. "I think it was a good start to the weekend," he told Sky Sports F1. "The feeling with the car was not bad and that is always a good starting point. There were no big problems with the balance."

Bottas expects to compete with Hamilton in Spain. "This weekend we have similar setups to Lewis. We know well what is needed. Tonight we will do the usual things and try to make the setup as good as possible for the rest of the weekend. Every hundredth of a second can help us, even in qualifying."

Hamilton normally performs extremely well at the circuit of Spain. The Mercedes driver has walked away with the top prize for the past four seasons. The year before, Verstappen won after a spectacular race.