PODIUM
Transcript and photos from the Russian Grand Prix podium
ceremony at Sochi Autodrom, conducted by Eddie Jordan
and including: race winner Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes),
second placed Sebstian Vettel (Ferrari) and third placed
(Kimi Raikkonen).
Valtteri, tell us, what does it feel like, your first ever win in
grand prix racing?
Valtteri Bottas: Amazing. It took quite a while, more than
80 races for me, but definitely worth the wait, worth the
learning curve. This strange opportunity came to me in
the winter to join this team and they made it possible, so
I really want to thank to the team, without them it wouldn’t
be possible, so feels amazing.
It’s like a fairy tale isn’t it? Four or five months ago you
were going to drive with Williams, a particularly good team,
but you got the chance to come to this team – a winning,
world champion team – and you’re one the top [of the]
podium at the moment.
VB: yeah, we’ve had a tricky beginning of the year, you
know the fight with Ferrari was again very close. We
managed to be on top, but we need to keep pushing, we
need to keep finishing with both cars all the time one and
two, that’s the plan. But just very, very happy now.
Sebastian, Felipe Massa, tell me about him, what
happened on that last lap?
Sebastian Vettel: I obviously tried everything to catch
Valtteri and maybe I thought there might be some
opportunity on the back straight. I was sure [Felipe] would
lift around Turn 3, it’s flat out, and let me be, so I wouldn’t
lose much time, but then I think I just wasn’t sure what he
was going to do and I ended up losing a bit more than I
was hoping for. But it doesn’t matter. This is the man of the
race, big congrats to Valtteri, it’s his first grand prix win, so
it’s his day.