Williams Martini Racing driver Valtteri Bottas is looking forward to heading across the Atlantic to the United States Grand Prix this weekend, and is confident the team can be stronger than they were in Japan last time out.
Not only is the Finn a big fan of the city of Austin – Texas and its “keep weird” ways, but the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) track is also where the 27-year-old scored his first points in F1, when he finished a brilliant eighth back in 2013, having taken a more than surprising third place grid slot in a damp qualifying session.
“Austin is a great city and the people are very nice. Normally the weather is very good – except last year when it was a little bit different!
“I still remember COTA fondly because it was where I picked up my first ever points in Formula One in 2013, so it’s always nice to go back there.”
Last year was a grand prix to forget for the Grove based squad however, when Bottas and team-mate Felipe Massa were involved in separate first corner collisions that ultimately led to their individual retirements from the race, following rear suspension failures to both cars.
This weekend Bottas and the Williams F1 team are hoping to fare much better, with a decent points scoring position the goal for Sunday, at a location the Finn considers to be one of the stand-out races of the season.
“We didn’t manage to score there in 2015 because of the DNF with both cars, but it should be a pretty good track for us when we go there again and try to get some good points.”
“Overall, as a race weekend, with the fans and everything going on it’s one of the best races to go to. It’s a special grand prix.”
