Mercedes yet to "unlock" hidden potential in bid to overhaul Red Bull - Bottas

Valtteri Bottas believes Mercedes can "unlock" hidden potential in the W12 and overhaul Red Bull's advantage to take the F1 constructors' title this season.

Lewis Hamilton snatched victory from Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the Bahrain season-opener but the Dutchman hit back at Imola to leave Mercedes just seven points ahead.

New sliding-scale aero testing restrictions have left the champions with less testing time than rivals this season while a new budget cap and development limitations all appear to be working against a recovery.

Bottas remains confident, however, and said: "I think the rate of development is weak compared to last year or especially two or three years back. Less time in wind tunnels and the engine dyno. There are things that are much more based on simulations.

"I still believe we can catch them. I believe from the feeling I have in the car that there is more to unlock from it, if we can make the car a bit more drivable.

"I think we are really understanding and fine-tuning the setup and I think there is still more to come. 23 races is a long time to learn about the package and to develop the restrictions."

Red Bull's second-place finish in the constructors' standings last season only grants them an extra two-and-a-half per cent of aerodynamic development time, leading Bottas to call for Mercedes to optimise operations at its Brackley base.

"We just need to be more efficient than the other teams," he added. "We know Red Bull are normally good on in-season development so we need to try and out-pace them in one way or another. I fully believe in it, seeing the motivation the team has."

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