Bottas hoping Baku heartbreak will make him 'stronger'

Valtteri Bottas is hoping that the heartbreak of having victory at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last weekend snatched away at the death due to a punctured tyre will make him "stronger" going forward, starting with the Spain Grand Prix next Sunday.

The Finn was leading in Baku with only three laps to go and seemed poised to top the podium, but the tyre puncture cost him not only the victory, but a lead in the world championship.

Bottas has confessed his disappointment at the loss, but vowed that it would make him "stronger".

"Of course it was disappointing, but life and especially motorsport includes disappointments," said Bottas.

"I always find that disappointment can be your best opportunity to be stronger if you take it the right way. So I am planning to be even stronger next weekend and for the rest of the year."

"This is F1. It is competitive and when the regulations stay more or less the same, it is always going to get tighter. There are three big teams now which we expected to be close.

"What we need to do is keep looking into the fine details, and learning even little bits, even one hundredth of a second at a time. If we can find those regularly, from all the areas - especially from our weaknesses - that is going to bring us far."

READ MORE: Lauda blasts Baku track team after Bottas puncture
READ MORE: WATCH as Bottas suffers agonising puncture in Baku

Bottas was speaking after receiving the Lorenzo Bandini award for a commendable motorsport performance, and he thinks this achievement, at least a little, makes up for not claiming the flag in Baku.

"As a kid when I was doing go-karts and seeing which kind of drivers have received the trophy, I could never have imagined that I would be here receiving it," he said.

"So it means a lot.

"I didn't get a trophy last weekend but now I have, and it is a lot better. I am really honoured."