While he most definitely deserved a podium finish during this year’s Russian Grand Prix, Williams’ Valtteri Bottas always seemed to feel at home on the Sochi track.
Bottas was well on his way to finish 3rd last weekend in Russia when Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen decided it was all or nothing and launched himself on the inside of a turn where the Williams driver wasn’t expecting him to be.
The rest was of course history as Bottas turned in and the two collided, resulting in 30 seconds being added to Kimi’s race time.
Let’s leave all that aside for a moment and focus on Bottas’ overall speed. He’s definitely one of the fastest and most consistent drivers in Formula One today, proving to be a really tough thorn in Ferrari’s side this year. He was equally impressive last season as well, especially in Sochi where he finished 3rd and also set the fastest lap of the race at 1:40.896.
That Williams is seriously quick, especially in a straight line, and you can clearly see how well Bottas is keeping the rear end in check as he gets on the power as early as possible through certain corners.
This year, Vettel was the fastest man in Russia, where he did a 1:40.071 – though to be fair, 2015 cars are quite a bit quicker than last year’s cars, generally speaking.