Valtteri Bottas was delighted with his third place finish in the Canadian Grand Prix, which also was the Williams team’s first podium finish of the season.
“Really pleased that we finally got a good result,” he said afterwards. “I’m sure it’s a big boost for the whole team.”
As for whether Bottas could still have finished third had Kimi Raikkonen not had a troubled run, including a spin, the man himself was unsure: “That’s really difficult to say really – for sure it [Raikkonen’s spin] helped us and it was good that we weren’t very far away at any point in the beginning to Kimi, so we could always put a bit of pressure on them.”
Bottas also was pleased with the Grove team’s strategic approach in the race: “We also managed to change the strategy halfway [through] the race. I think that was really dynamic from the team. The team did really good work today with the strategy and just being aware of all the things what was happening around us and in front.”
And responding to a question from Grand Prix Times about whether, like last season, Williams can make a conspicuous competitive improvement at this part of the year, Bottas was hopeful: “I think the next couple of tracks, at least, will be pretty good for us. Austria, Silverstone, I think they will suit our car and I’m quite confident also with the package we have coming to Austria.
“At least, if it works like all the updates so far we’ve had, I think it should be a very good step and then possibly we could be fighting for many more podiums. I really hope it’s possible.”
