Bottas assesses Mercedes upgrade after Suzuka success

Valtteri Bottas hailed Mercedes' Japanese Grand Prix upgrade for allowing him to push further after securing top spot in both of Friday's practice sessions at Suzuka.

The Silver Arrows returned to from at Suzuka, as they look to respond to Ferrari's four-straight pole positions, and Lewis Hamilton was tucked in behind Bottas in second place across FP1 and FP2.

Mercedes have brought an aero upgrade to Suzuka, with its fearsome first sector testing cars' capabilities through the corners like few other circuits.

And Bottas could certainly feel a difference as he took top spot, which could end up securing pole position if Sunday morning's rescheduled qualifying cannot be completed.

He said: "It was a very positive day. We tried the new bits with the car we had for this weekend.

"I'm glad the weather stayed good, we got plenty of running and used obviously some tyres from Saturday as well.

"So good running, it felt good since the beginning. Pretty happy with the car in general. Just some minor things with the balance to treat, but the short and long runs, at least today, felt good.

"[We] still need to remember it's only practice. I do still feel the gains we made with the car, so that's always a very nice feeling.

"We can push the car even further than before. I think we need to focus on ourselves, but yeah, Sunday is still going to be close with quali and the race."

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