Bottas: 'I have to say, it even surprised me a little bit'

Lewis Hamilton grabbed the limelight at the Brazilian Grand Prix with a glorious victory. Valtteri Bottas, however, also performed well during the race. The Finn earned a podium finish, which he was very pleased with.

Bottas started the race on pole position but had to let Max Verstappen go in the first corner. He then had to let Perez pass him, which meant he was suddenly behind the two Red Bull Racing drivers. The Finn, who will move to Alfa Romeo next season, did not give up though.

"I kept pushing and I have to say it’s so good seeing Lewis winning this race from where we started," Bottas proudly told at the FIA press conference. "I feel Lewis was in his own league today and this weekend, so it was an incredible job. But obviously, I didn’t give up, kept pushing, and still managed to get to the podium. It means we get more points than Red Bull."

The Safety Car came at exactly the right time for Bottas during the race, as it gave him an opportunity to overtake Perez. "I have to say, yeah, even surprised me a little bit like how good the pace we had was towards the end of the stints. I had a feeling, because on the first stop, for me, it was quite late, that it should have been one stop so I’m still thinking I should have been, possibly, second with one stop."