Valtteri Bottas says his race-winning start to the 2019 Formula 1 season acts as a “big boost” for his confidence, in the wake of his struggles through last year.
Bottas was unable to take a single victory amid a combination of misfortune, team instructions and poor personal displays in 2018, slumping to fifth in the standings.
But Bottas dominated Formula 1’s opening race of 2019 in Australia, taking the lead from Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton at the start, and going on to win by over 20 seconds.
“It’s only my fourth win in Formula 1 and after a winless 2018 it feels even better,” he said.
“In sport, and especially in this sport, the confidence you get from the results is a massive help, it boosts you a lot, even though the difficult times that will come, anyway, every season, but you always remember the good ones and you get strength from knowing you can do something like today.
“I was obviously one year without a win, so this is absolutely the win I wanted and it’s going to be a big boost for this year.
“It was the perfect start of the year, very different from last year, so I just need to keep it up and build from what we’ve learned, as a team, from this weekend. And it’s the same thing for myself.”
Bottas attracted attention post-race when a message from his in-lap was broadcast, in which the Finn commented: “to whom it may concern, f*** you”.
When asked about the intended recipient(s) of the message, Bottas replied: “It would be quite a long list, unfortunately, but that’s how it goes. I’m sure that people to whom it was destined, they know who they are.
“I can’t say the criticism was unfair, because everybody can say whatever they want.
“But just for the whom it may concern, they should look in the mirror, sometimes, and think why they do that. For me, it’s OK now.”
Bottas also grabbed the extra point available for fastest lap, meaning he holds an eight-point advantage over Hamilton in the championship.
