Valtteri Bottas deems Japanese GP start as "one of the best ones in my career"

Valtteri Bottas believes the start he made to the Japanese Grand Prix is one of the best he's made during his career. The Finnish Formula 1 driver went on to win the race, his first victory since April.

Bottas was sat behind Sebastian Vettel who jump-started the race. With Bottas' great launch, he soon slipped past the four-time world champion and took the lead by some distance at the first corner.

"I had an excellent start today, one of the best ones in my career, and managed to take the lead in the very beginning. We expected our car to be quick in the race, but it’s really tricky to overtake on this track, so we knew that we’d have to try and take the lead at the start and I’m very glad it all worked out," Bottas said.

It wasn't all simple for Bottas. The Mercedes driver was forced to work hard for his race win.

"I really enjoyed the race afterwards; the car felt really good and our upgrades worked well. Suzuka has always been my favourite track even though I’ve never been particularly strong here – but now I like this track even more. It’s been a while since my last victory, I missed that winning feeling and I’m very happy and proud to have won the race that secured us the Constructors’ Championship," Bottas added.

Bottas remains the only driver able to chase down Lewis Hamilton's lead at the top of the F1 world championship. The gap is at currently at 64 points.