F1 | Mercedes, Bottas without limits: "We can still improve"

We didn't expect a different day for Valtteri Bottas, who finished in command in Sochi after the two free practice sessions. On his favorite track, the Finn beat Hamilton by two tenths, and in the long run he was definitely the fastest with both compounds used. Let's not immediately put #77 on a pedestal, who has shown several times that he suffers from his teammate even in situations that seemed favorable to him, but in Russia he could really show his respect for the six-time world champion.

“There's definitely more to come, but overall it was a positive first day – Bottas admitted. The conditions were quite difficult, and that's why so many riders made mistakes. There were some interruptions, which means we were all at the limit, and I also had a major lock-up which destroyed a set of tyres. FP2 went better and we managed to do a lot of laps, but I still wasn't able to sort out all the sectors. The first two are fine, while in the third the car is rather nervous. I did a bit of rally especially in the last corner, and certainly not the best way to approach these corners, so there is still a bit of margin. We're in good shape and I'm sure we can still improve for tomorrow."