Mercedes W09 'not easy' to drive

Mercedes' W09 is "not an easy car to drive", according to Valtteri Bottas, as the Silver Arrows continue to struggle to match their recent dominance of Formula 1. The reigning champions look off the pace at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after Friday's practice sessions.

Though Bottas went quicker in FP1, the more competitive FP2 went the way of Red Bull as Daniel Ricciardo delivered the quickest headline time and Max Verstappen clocked the best average lap times in long-run simulations.

Mercedes' three-race run without a victory this year is their worst drought in the hybrid era, with Bottas seeing chances to win in Bahrain and China slip through his fingers.

All the evidence from Friday points to that drought stretching to a fourth race come Sunday, with Bottas finding his car difficult to handle.

"FP1 was better than FP2 because I think we were missing a bit of pace in the second session compared to Ferrari and Red Bull," Bottas said.

The man from the Land of Snow ???? Looking hot in the Land of Fire! #AzerbaijanGP ???????? #VB77 pic.twitter.com/6DpyFFdZ9G — Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) April 27, 2018

"It was quite difficult to get a lap together, even my best lap today was a bit a messy.

"It's not an easy car to drive at the moment, we have some work to do with the balance. But if we get everything right, the car is quick.

"We have plenty of things to look at tonight so that we make the right changes for tomorrow and Sunday. The fact that we're here in Baku earlier than in previous years definitely affects the tyres, but the biggest concern is the wind.

"It's supposed to be very windy tomorrow and on Sunday which makes a lot of a difference on a street circuit."

Bottas may at least take comfort from outperforming Hamilton on Friday, as he has done across the past two grands prix, and the world champion is leaving no stone unturned as he looks to et back to form.

"Overall, we weren't quick enough today," Hamilton said. "Both Red Bull and Ferrari seem to be ahead of us at the moment. So we've got some work to do.

"I'm going to be knocking on the doors of all the engineers overnight, so that we can hopefully make the right changes."