Valtteri Bottas fears Mercedes' impressive gap to the rest in Bahrain's Friday practice sessions is a fairer reflection of its advantage over the rest.
Mercedes finished comfortably clear of the rest of the pack in FP2 after the threat from Ferrari failed to materialise. Williams driver Bottas finished eighth in FP2, 1.7s down on Mercedes, and he thinks some sort of normality may have been restored to the pecking order.
"I would say the gap was surprisingly small in Melbourne and now it's maybe how it should be," Bottas said. "Maybe Ferrari still has something up its sleeve and I'm sure we can still improve a lot from today."
Though Williams has been a resurgent team since switching to Mercedes power in 2014 it has not yet seriously challenged its engine supplier for a race victory in the V6 turbo era. Bottas thinks the chances of doing so look even smaller than last year unless there are some unusual circumstances in races.
"They deserve to be this far ahead. We are a bit of a smaller team and we want to win, but at this stage of the season, in normal conditions, it seems impossible. We just need to keep working and improving the car because it's still very early in the season."
Bottas also confirmed Williams should finally roll out its new shorter nose in FP3, which the team hopes will solve its long-term weakness in slow-speed corners. However, with just one arriving, Bottas admits he may not be the one who gets to test the new part.
"I think it's just one. That's what I've heard but let's see. We'll have to see, obviously Felipe is in front of me in the points so that would be more logical [for him to get it]. For the team it is always better. As soon as we get the better bit than what is on the car, of course you put it on there. If its one or two [parts], that's how it goes."