Lauda: Bottas has already proven himself at Mercedes

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Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda says that Valtteri Bottas has already justified his place at the team.

The three-time world champion said that the Finn's third place in Melbourne proved he had been the right choice to replace Nico Rosberg.

"We selected exactly the right driver," Lauda told Sky Sports after the Australian Grand Prix. "He did a faultless race under great pressure.

"Bottas did an incredible job. First time in the car, finished third, close up to Lewis. He could not have done a better job.

"I expected Bottas - in a new car with a new team and with the help of the team - to get quicker. He did all that, so the whole weekend he was a sensation."

Bottas was only signed up by Mercedes in January after being released by Williams. Nico Rosberg's shock retirement from the sport five days after winning the 2016 title left Mercedes scrambling for a late-notice replacement.

"It was Rosberg-like," Lauda said of Bottas' Mercedes début. "I don't think he would have been worse than Nico if Nico would have raced here.

"It could have been exactly the same result but he was the first time in the car, which I think was outstanding."

Lauda and Wolff see no motivation issues with Hamilton

Bottas himself denied that his maiden Mercedes outing had been crucial in proving his worth to the team.

"Most important podium? I don’t know," he said after the race. "For sure it is good to start with a podium this season with a new team.

"There are always things that could have gone better but it is a good starting point for the journey for me driving for Mercedes."

While he finished on the podium, Bottas dismissed suggestions that he should have been more aggressive toward his team mate.

"It would not have made any sense," Bottas said. "To attack Lewis I would have had to be at least two seconds faster than him, and I wasn't."

"Overall, I think not a disastrous first race weekend with the team," he added with typical Finnish understatement.

"I do have my points I will take, and I can do better next time - and I look forward to that."

GALLERY: all the pics from Sunday's action

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.