Valtteri Bottas believes his chances of a race win tomorrow in Barcelona remain intact, even after failing to secure a spot on the front row of the grid.
Bottas found himself at a disadvantage at the outset after Mercedes was forced to revert the Finn to an older-spec engine following a water leak on his latest power unit.
The setback deprived the Russian GP winner of valuable track time in the morning but he gave it his best in the afternoon's crucial qualifying session.
"For most of the weekend we've had the edge on Ferrari but in Q3 they raised their game," Bottas said.
"For me starting the day with the engine change and moving back to the old engine, I was always going to be on the back foot.
"I really struggled through qualifying with the rear stability of the car, so it was difficult to find a good rhythm.
"It wasn't one of my best qualifying sessions but I'm happy with the job that the team has done. You could see Lewis was very strong and quick today."
Bottas won from P3 in Sochi, so he isn't getting worked up about starting behind the Mercedes-Ferrari combo in front.
"It's a shorter run down to Turn 1 than in Sochi, but we've seen in the past that you can make positions from the second row.
"I've done some good things from P3 before. Everything is still wide open. We're happy with the race pace and upbeat for tomorrow. "
Win the ULTIMATE TRACKDAY with F1i.com!
GALLERY: All the action from Barcelona on Friday
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
Fernando Alonso has highlighted the “sensitivity” of Lance Stroll’s technical feedback, a key ingredient in…
As the world prepares to commemorate on May 1st the 30th anniversary of Ayrton Senna's…
The coveted jewel of Formula E finally fell to Mitch Evans after several years of…
Red Bull admits it’s facing a steep learning curve with its in-house engine development, but…
Sky F1 commentator Damon Hill believes a return to McLaren could be the most fitting…
A special chapter in F1 history was written on this day in 1975 when Lella…