Valtteri Bottas does think Mercedes can compete with Ferrari, but only by unlocking the speed from the new W10.
The German manufacturer has been making good progress in the second week of testing, after bringing the Melbourne-spec upgrades to their car.
And in return, Bottas confirms he is feeling more settled behind the wheel.
“It is better, but if it’s enough [to match Ferrari], that is the big question mark," he told Motorsport.com
“I definitely feel improvements since last week with the stability of the car and with the overall downforce of the car, but we feel that we haven’t unlocked everything that there is to unlock.
“We do still need to make improvements for sure but at least we have some time after testing to again learn more for Australia.”
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This comes as Ferrari shifted the goalposts on Thursday morning, posting a new benchmark of 1m16.2s and Charles Leclerc warning there is still more to come.
“They still seem strong. Obviously as always from testing to Melbourne, a lot of things can change but they do have a strong package,” Bottas continued.
“I still think we do need to unlock more from the new package to be able to really compete with them properly. We’ve been able to improve overall grip, downforce and stability, but all those areas, we can still do better.
“It’s not the perfect car yet. Definitely we feel the potential is there. Maybe it’s another car that has quite a small sweet spot, but once you hit it, it can be very quick.
“We are learning massively every day, I feel like it’s been a good step, every time I get back in the car it gets better. I hope I can feel that again this afternoon and tomorrow and hope for a bigger step in Melbourne.”
