Valtteri Bottas says his podium at the Canadian Grand Prix came down to Williams’ “great strategy”, with the Finn happy to beat both Red Bulls and one Ferrari at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Lining up seventh on the grid, Bottas benefitted from Nico Rosberg’s difficult start to quickly gain one position. He then made a bold one-stop strategy work to climb all the way to third and secure his team’s first visit to the rostrum this year.
“Everything was perfect,” said Bottas, who already was on the podium in Canada 12 months ago.
“I’m really pleased. As a team we were strong, a great strategy the car felt really good today and I was on it. It’s great to be up here and a big thank you to the team as everyone has done an amazing job.
“Montreal has been pretty good to me and to us as a team. It was always going to be one of the good tracks for us, but today’s result didn’t come easy. The strategy and the choice of the lap when to stop was perfect. I really have to thanks Williams for this result but we need to keep getting these kind of results.”
Bottas’ ninth career podium came after Williams, which finished third in the last two Constructors’ championships, appeared to have slipped back in this year’s competitive order. The 27-year-old hopes this performance is the start of a strong run.
“This result gives us confidence we can do good things. This is one of the good tracks, but the team did a great job with the strategy. But the car was also quick, from the start I could put pressure on Kimi [Raikkonen] and even the Red Bulls.
“I think the next few races should be good. This really makes a lot of good to the team and it’s a motivation boost for the next races.”
REPORT: Hamilton beats Vettel to win in Canada
AS IT HAPPENED: Canadian Grand Prix
Breakfast with ... David Hobbs
Technical feature: Under the skin of the Haas VF-16
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
