Bottas buoyed by charge from back row to podium

Valtteri Bottas says he “did everything he could” throughout the Italian Grand Prix weekend after surging to a podium finish.

Bottas topped qualifying and went on to win Sprint but dropped to the back of the grid for Sunday’s race after taking on a new power unit.

Bottas used Hard tyres for the first stint and carved his way into the top 10 before switching to Mediums and emerging in sixth during the Safety Car period caused by the clash between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.

Bottas overhauled both Ferrari drivers to finish fourth on the road but was promoted to third due to Sergio Perez’s time penalty for cutting the chicane.

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“I think it was probably the most positions gained, maybe in my career,” he said. “I don’t know, I’m not the best with statistics.

“Although some people might think it’s easy to overtake here in Monza but actually it isn’t. When there’s a few cars in a row it’s not that easy, so I’m happy at the progress we could make.

“Of course, we did have a good car, good pace and good strategy, starting with the Hard tyre in my case was definitely the right choice and could go along and take the opportunities.

“Once we went to the Medium it was time to attack and push. Just at the very end the Medium started to push a bit but by then things started to stabilise.

“Overall I did everything I could and this weekend overall. So, for that, I’m happy.”

Bottas conceded there was a brief moment where he felt victory was within his reach but swiftly realised McLaren’s pace was too rapid.

“I could see both of the McLarens were actually pretty close and I was catching,” he said.

“Then once I was behind Pérez and really in the train, of course I was trying everything I could – but of course the last few laps, the tyre started to drop and that was it.

“I think it would have been tricky to get past the McLarens. Honestly, they’ve been strong all weekend and they have their strengths, especially on the straight line.”