Autosportfoto

Bottas feels ‘shame’ for missing maiden win with Williams

Valtteri Bottas says it's a shame he couldn't secure his maiden F1 Grand Prix victory or world title during his time at Williams but has confidence the team will return to the top in the future.

The Finnish driver notched up nine podiums during his seven-year stint at Williams, including back-to-back second places at Silverstone and Hockenheim in 2014, but a first win remains elusive.

Having been selected by Mercedes as Nico Rosberg's replacement after the 2016 F1 world champion dramatically retired, Bottas says he is targeting wins and the F1 world title but remains frustrated he could never achieve the feat with the team which gave him his big break in the sport.

"I always say Williams has won so many championships that there's no reason why it couldn't win again," Bottas said. "I think it's only for this team a matter of time.

"It's a shame we couldn't get together our first win or the title, but I wish all the best to everyone at Williams and a lot of success. And I hope you will get the championship rather sooner than later.

"It's been an amazing learning curve for me and the team. Every year you can feel the team has gone more and more professional. Things are developing, even though sometimes the results don't show it."

Despite his disappointment, Bottas is confident he gave it his all for Williams in every race and every test and feels that has been reflected in the British squad's improvements.

"At least I tried everything I could - I always wanted to be a team player," he said. "My goal was always to bring the maximum points for the team, work a lot, work a lot with the engineers and race team and spend a lot of time at the factory.

"I really wanted to do everything to improve the team, give all the feedback I could to make us better, to make us quicker. So I hope I've given something and now I wish everything goes well in the future."

Williams' last F1 race win came in 2012 with Pastor Maldonado at the Spanish Grand Prix. Last year the Grove-based team slipped to fifth place in the F1 world constructors' championship after being pipped by Force India. 

Zdroj: crash.net