Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, Max Verstappen, Albert Park, 2019

Bottas says “that was my best race” after dominant win in season-opener

2019 Australian Grand Prix

Posted on

| Written by

A stunned Valtteri Bottas said “I don’t know what just happened” after dominating the first race of the 2019 F1 season.

Bottas started from second on the grid and led the race almost from start to finish after passing team mate Lewis Hamilton within seconds of the start.

“I don’t know what to say,” said Bottas. “The start was really good.

“It was definitely my best race ever. I don’t know what happened it just felt so good and everything was under control and the car was so good today. Truly enjoyable.”

Bottas scored a maximum 26 points after claiming the bonus point for fastest lap, which was awarded for the first time in 60 years. He told his team on the radio late in the race he was determined to take the extra point.

“I was, definitely,” he said. “That’s a new rule for this year and as I had a really strong pace I wanted to go for that in the end.

“It’s always a bit risky with worn tyres but it was worth it. But I’m just so happy and I can’t wait for the next race.”

Today’s victory is the fourth of Bottas’s career and his first since the final race of 2017. It means he leads the drivers’ championship for the first time in his career.

Don't miss anything new from RaceFans

Follow RaceFans on social media:

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

2019 F1 season

Browse all 2019 F1 season articles

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

9 comments on “Bottas says “that was my best race” after dominant win in season-opener”

  1. Fantastic VB. You did exactly as you needed to do. Keep it up.

  2. Very happy for Bottas especially after the bad luck he suffered last season.
    Lewis needs to work on his starts. Partly he lost the 2016 championship to Nico because of poor starts which pretty much decided the race.

  3. Well, I underestimated VB a bit; good to see him on top of things this time around, nice to see nice guys win it.

  4. I reckon the good feeding his missus has given him over the winter has helped Bottas immensely. First time I saw him this week I instantly thought he looked much healthier. The new greater driver weight allowance may have some impact this year I reckon. Well done VB, great drive.

    1. @potsie159 He said so himself that this had been his best winter to date in F1 because he didn’t have to watch out for his weight anymore and could allow himself to have his natural build, resulting in a healthier, more positive off-season.

  5. it’s too early to tell, ofcourse, but maybe this car that everyone says it’s really fast but stiff and difficult to drive might suit Bottas better than Lewis…

  6. Bottas sometimes seems to have something special on lower grip circuits. Today he had a great start and the car to dominate even Lewis.

    Good job

  7. Awesome performance but still quite surprising

  8. Obviously only because of the beard, but still, good job :OP

Comments are closed.