Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas isn't too phased by his second row start for the Russian Grand Prix, after Mercedes were outclassed by Ferrari on Saturday.
Bottas qualified down in third, a place ahead of his team-mate Lewis Hamilton, as Ferrari secured their first front-row lock-out since 2008. However it was close between the top three, with just a tenth covering them.
Bottas concedes the Italian outfit were quicker in qualifying trim and expects a tight race on Sunday when it "really counts".
"Well I think it's pretty clear to see from the result, Ferrari was quicker today," Bottas said after the session. "We were close in the end, but not quite enough.
"To be honest, the whole weekend, they've [Ferrari] had the upper hand and been able to extract much more especially from the ultrasoft tyre, and that's where we really struggled yesterday."
Bottas isn't ruling out a victory though and believes he can make up places at the start of the race, thanks to the long run into Turn 1 which allows for a good slipstream if a driver can get a good start from the grid.
"We made improvements for today, but obviously not quite enough still," he added. "Good team effort to get close, we're on the second row. As always, tomorrow is the day that really counts.
"I think a second row start here is not actually that bad a thing. It's a pretty long run into Turn 1."
