Bottas: “back will be 100 per cent in China”

The Williams driver missed the season-opening race in Melbourne after suffering a small tear in the annular part of a disc in the lower back.

But after travelling to Indonesia where he acclimatised to the hot and humid conditions, while having physiotherapy, he was cleared to race in the Malaysian Grand Prix.

The team made an adjustment to his seat and pedal positions with Bottas going on to have a strong race, recovering from a poor start that dropped him to 14th to finish fifth.

Bottas admitted that his back was not “100 per cent yet” after the race at Sepang, but said he had “expected” that to be the case.

The Finn added: “It was much better than Sunday in Melbourne which is good and the new driving position I had felt good.

“There is much less pressure on the back and now there is a two-week gap between races for a good recovery.

“I am sure in China it will be 100 per cent and no problem in the future.”