Mercedes explain why Ferrari have 'upper hand' in Canada

Valtteri Bottas

Mercedes explain why Ferrari have 'upper hand' in Canada

Valtteri Bottas expects a tough fight.

Matthew Scott

Friday 7 June 2019 08:34

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Valtteri Bottas says Mercedes expect Ferrari to have the upper hand in the Canadian Grand Prix, despite the Silver Arrows taking upgraded engines for the Montreal weekend. Although Bottas and Lewis Hamilton have a power gain to look forward to, the Finn says Ferrari's engines remain more powerful.

The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve's longer straights are expected to play into the hands of the SF90, although Mercedes' upgrade was thought to potentially address the balance.

But Bottas says he and Hamilton will not have it all their own way, in a race that Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel won from pole last year.

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"We are expecting obviously already from a fresh engine a tiny bit of power gain, but we are expecting a small step forward," he said.

"We don't think it is quite yet enough to match Ferrari's straight-line speed. They will have the upper hand on that, but we will have our strengths in other areas. I look forward to trying it.

"I think it is coming at the right time because the first engine is running towards the end of its life so we definitely needed a new one anyway.

"It is nice to have the upgrade here compared to Monaco. The engine is much more valuable here so it is good timing for that. But we need to see what actually works and how much is the benefit compared to the other one."

Bottas has pushed Hamilton closer this year than in 2017 or 2018 and he is confident of matching his five-time world champion colleague once again in Montreal.

"I think it is going to be close and it usually is at this track anyway because it is quite short," he said.

"There are not that many places you can make a big difference. On top of that it has been very close between me and Lewis in qualifying, so I am expecting it will be hundredths if not thousandths [between us].

"I need to make sure those hundredths and thousandths are on my side. I need to find those in practice and, together with the team, to find the perfect set-up."