Bottas vows to assist Hamilton with "whatever I can"

Valtteri Bottas has vowed to do "whatever I can" to assist team-mate Lewis Hamilton from the front row of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Mercedes locked out the front row of the grid in Jeddah after Max Verstappen hit a wall at the last turn of his final hot lap when he was on course to snatch pole.

Although open with regard to his own race-winning ambitions, Bottas was quick to emphasise his willingness to assist both Hamilton and Mercedes as a team.

"Of course, I want to get the win but first things first, we need to focus on the teams' championship and Lewis is still fighting for the title, I am not," said Bottas, competing in his 100th grand prix weekend with Mercedes.

"So I will do my best with whatever I can and at the same time I will try to enjoy [the race]."

The circuit has been met with widespread praise from the drivers, including Bottas who on Friday said over team radio: "F**k, this track is cool!"

Expressing thanks to his mechanics for performing an engine change in the two-hour window between final practice and qualifying, Bottas added: "It was an important qualifying. For me, it was a bit of a struggle in practice three.

"We actually had to change an engine and the guys could just finish the car before qualifying and everything was working fine so I was happy.

"The last lap was on the limit and I enjoyed it but it is a tough track, pushing one lap after the other and the grip really doesn't drop so it is quite tough."

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