RACE REPORT: PPG sponsored Williams F1 back on the podium for 2016

Valtteri Bottas claimed the team’s first podium of the season, finishing third at the Canadian grand prix at Montreal.

It was a thrilling Canadian grand prix, full of action from start to finish. An historic circuit which has given f1 some its greatest moments, 2016’s race lived up to expectation for fans. A mixed result for Williams however, with Felipe Massa forced to retire following a water system issue that caused his power unit to overheat on lap 36 and Valtteri Bottas to claim his first podium finish of the season.

Valtteri had a good start and managed to gain a position as a result of Rosberg going straight on at Turn 1. He made his only pitstop of the race on lap 23. Following his stop he was able to pass Ricciardo for fourth making his strategy work to move into third after Verstappen stopped on lap 46. 

Valteri comments ‘"I’m very happy with what we achieved as a team today. It’s a shame with what happened to Felipe, but this gives us a big motivation boost for the next few races. I think today shows that we are a strong team who can deliver good results. Our strategy was great and our pitstop was really good, yet again. It was definitely one of my best races. I’m really pleased with today and looking forward to the next race."

Felipe was running seventh before his only pitstop of the race on lap 22. He was managing his tyres well before being forced to retire.

The team collected 15 points to extend the gap to fifth-placed Force India to 39 points in the Constructors’ Championship.

The next race is hosted in Baku in Azerbaijan, a new street circuit said to be one of the fastest on the f1 calendar.