Felipe Massa secured his first podium finish of the season in Austria, taking advantage of Sebastian Vettel’s slow pit stop to finish third.
The veteran Williams Martini Racing driver was able to remain ahead of the Scuderia Ferrari driver until the chequered flag at the Red Bull Ring , and felt the team deserved the podium for making the most of the opportunity presented to them.
“I am delighted with the result, the team did a great job and it was a fantastic race,” said Massa. “We made the most of the slower Ferrari pit stop and took all the opportunities that came to us to achieve my first podium of the year.
“The team were pushing me a lot throughout the final stages of the race and I was doing my best to keep Vettel behind. I knew it was not the time to make mistakes and it was amazing to bring it home.”
Team-mate Valtteri Bottas finished fifth, passing both Max Verstappen and Nico Hulkenberg on track after having a mediocre opening lap, and then suffering with a braking issue on his Williams.
“It is a good result for the team,” said Bottas. “I was hoping for a bit more from the race personally. I enjoyed the overtaking that I made, it was just a shame it wasn’t further up.
“Midway through the race I had a brake issue which I had to manage a bit. We have closed the gap to the team in front in the Constructor’s Championship, which is a good feeling. Well done to Felipe on a great result to get on the podium.”
