Bottas not feeling extra pressure after crash

Valtteri Bottas has said he is preparing himself like any "normal race weekend" and is not feeling any extra pressure after his Q3 crash in Australia.

Bottas recovered from P15 to P8 in the season opener, but his crash in qualifying was not the ideal start as he begins his latest battle for a new Mercedes contract.

The Finn is not dwelling on the incident, though, and does not feel he has done any lasting damage to his chances of extending his one-year deal at this stage.

"I think it’s a normal race weekend, that’s my feeling at the moment, honestly," Bottas said in Bahrain.

"Sometimes you have bad races and then there’s always the next one and of course you always want to perform but there is no point in gathering pressure from one mistake in qualifying.

"Of course, I always hope for a good weekend but yeah, I feel a normal race weekend ahead.