Mercedes keeping true pace guarded?

Although Ferrari have displayed epic one-lap pace towards the end of the final pre-season test, Valtteri Bottas hinted that mercedes will not be following suit. Sebastian Vettel smashed the unofficial lap record at the Circuit de Catalunya on Thursday but Bottas says Mercedes will respond in Australia.

Vettel clocked one minute 17.182 seconds in Barcelona on Thursday, with Kimi Raikkonen getting close to that benchmark by the middle of the final day's running.

Mercedes have rarely dipped into the 1min 18sec band, never mind chasing down the Scuderia's best efforts, with Bottas and Lewis Hamilton focusing on race simulations, which have shown impressive consistency.

And Bottas says the champions are happy to stick to their own plan, suggesting that qualifying in Melbourne will feature the Silver Arrows response.

"It was nice to get a race simulation under my belt and feeling the tyres and the car in the long run," he said.

That's 97 laps and @LewisHamilton is DONE for #F1Testing 2018! ?

???? #LH44: "I'm really proud of you all. Looking forward to taking this car to Melbourne!" #DrivenByEachOther #F1 pic.twitter.com/qMtogPxU18 — Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) March 9, 2018

"There is so much time in the race sim you do in testing to try different things in the car, and you really get comfortable in there.

"So it was positive for me yesterday. I think Lewis is doing pretty much the same.

"For us, the one lap pure pace is still a little bit unknown.
"We have seen some quick times from others, but I guess we will find out in a couple weeks."