Williams driver Valtteri Bottas hailed the Austrian Grand Prix as his “best weekend” in Formula 1 after taking a maiden podium finish.
Although the Finn, who started the race from second on the grid, lost out to Mercedes drivers Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton in the pit-stop phases, he was able to get the jump on team-mate Felipe Massa.
The result marked Williams’ first podium since the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix, when now Lotus driver Pastor Maldonado took the victory.
“I think it was my best ever weekend,” Bottas told reporters after the race.
“I’m really happy for us as a team. We were really strong the whole weekend.”
He added: “It’s just down to hard work. We are making progress and getting closer to the positions where we belong. There has been talk about maximising what we had and today we showed what we can do.”