Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas send warning to F1 rivals after Baku win

Hamilton finished second behind his Mercedes team-mate in Azerbaijan yesterday after the Finnish star held off his advances from the first lap.

After a brief period of overtaking between the two on the first corner, it looked like Hamilton could secure his third win of the season.

But after maintaining the lead, Bottas sped away from the pack and never looked like giving up position.

After just four races, Mercedes have a staggering 173 points and are running away with the Constructors’ Championship.

Hamilton, speaking after the Baku one-two, expressed his surprise at seeing so much pace in the car, and warned the rest of the grid that they need to get their act together before it gets too late.

“I definitely didn’t expect to have the performance that we have, but I’m glad that we do,” the Brit said.

“I just think that the team is out-performing itself.

“I don’t think that the team or the drivers – well, Valtteri – have performed as well as they have.

“Until they start performing the way that we are, this is the way it’s going to be.”

Bottas also expressed his surprise over the pace, but refused to get too carried away with the success.

“I’d have to say, the level the team is performing [at] now is incredible,” he gushed.

“I haven’t seen anything like this.

“I’m really proud to be a part of it.

“We shouldn’t think about it too much, our list of things to do is still long, so we need to think about those.”

The Formula 1 season continues with the Spanish Grand Prix on May 12.

source: express.co.uk