Bottas happy with free champagne after frustrating Austrian GP

Valtteri Bottas says earning some free champagne by appearing on the podium was a positive to take from the Austrian Grand Prix, as he finished in third without looking like challenging for the win.

Both Bottas and team-mate Lewis Hamilton struggled with the extreme heat on the track, with both reportedly suffering overheated engines in their respective Mercedes cars.

The battle for the win was left to Max Verstappen of Red Bull and Charles Leclerc of Ferrari, with the Dutchman eventually claiming the flag after overtaking with two laps to go.

It was the first race in a while in which Bottas managed to close the gap, even slightly, to Hamilton in the championship race.

"A positive today for me this weekend," he said about outscoring the Brit.

"Being on the podium and getting to drink free champagne, that's always nice! It's a fact. And getting a few points against Lewis in the end.”

The Finn admits the weekend could certainly have been a lot worse due to his engine concerns, but can be content that he closed the gap.

"I'm second in the championship, and my target is to close in the points to Lewis, and that target was achieved this weekend, although it would be nice to be higher up on the podium there have been,” he added.

“There could be a worse weekend in terms of points."

After nine races, Bottas is 31 points adrift of Hamilton in the championship race.

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