Valtteri Bottas was celebrating after achieving his first podium finish in Formula One during Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix.
The Finn, who started second alongside his Williams team-mate Felipe Massa on the front row, came home just eight seconds shy of the dominant Mercedes cars at the finish in third, having split the pair during the middle phase of the race before losing out to Hamilton at the final round of stops.
“I think overall it was my best ever weekend,” said Bottas, following the race. “I’m really happy for us as a team. We were really strong the whole weekend.
“It’s down to the hard work. We are making progress, getting closer to the positions where we belong.
“It’s nice to have a clean race and good points for the team. There has been talk about maximising what we had and today we showed what we can do.”
While his team-mate Massa was disappointed with a slow stop and traffic, which he believes spoilt his chances of a podium finish, the Brazilian felt the final result was a positive one for the team, which he hopes can kick-start Williams’ season.
“Valtteri was luckier than me with the pit-stop, said. “I also had traffic, so it was just part of what happened.
“Still, I’m happy. Of course it’s a shame not to be on the podium but it was a great result for the team.
“Looking at how much points we lost to now, hopefully it can be a restart for the team in the championship.”
Image courtesy of Williams F1 Team
Paddock Journal 