Bottas happy with team performance: "We showed we can do it"
F1 News
- Nicolás Quarles van Ufford
Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas was happy with his own and his team's performance during the Russian Grand Prix, with the Finn collecting P2 at the Sochi Autodrom for the second year running after his win in 2017.
Bottas started the race in fourth and even dropped a position to the rapid Carlos Sainz, who had a rapid start in his McLaren from P5.
However, as the race progressed, Bottas got back in line behind teammate Lewis Hamilton as the pair took a sudden one-two following their pit stops.
This was because Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari had ground to a halt, giving Mercedes a chance to pit under Virtual Safety Car, which gave them the lead and led to Bottas finishing second. He was happy with his race, as he spent a good chunk of the second half fighting off Charles Leclerc.
"I think to start fourth and finish second is not bad - for me, but for the team especially," the 30-year-old, who got his maiden win in Russia in 2017, told Paul di Resta.
"It's not a win, but still pretty good. I had a good race. The second stint was really good.
"We knew we should have good race pace and believed we could do it. We now really need to raise our games in qualifying, but race pace is okay."