Valtteri Bottas knew the importance of getting ahead of Nico Hülkenberg at the start of the Hungarian Grand Prix, with the Finn able to claim a ninth place finish on Sunday.
It was not the weekend the Williams Martini Racing outfit were hoping for, but Bottas believes that from his starting position of tenth, it was the best outcome he could have hoped for, and was happy to increase the gap in the Constructors’ Championship over Sahara Force India by another point.
Bottas was happy with how his Pirelli tyres stood up to the high temperatures seen at the Hungaroring on Sunday, with his pre-race stint plan being extended due to the Supersoft tyres lasting longer than expected.
“The start of the race was really good,” said Bottas. “It was very important to get ahead of the Force India. After that we pretty much executed our plan.
“The Supersoft tyre was holding on a lot better than we thought it would, so we ran a bit longer in the first stint. After that our pace on the Softs more or less matched our predictions.
“I think we got the maximum points today from the starting position that we had. I’m sure in Hockenheim we can get more points and try to build a bigger gap from Force India.”
