Valtteri Bottas believes he would not have been able to finish on the podium during a hectic Azerbaijan Grand Prix had it not been for the second Safety Car period.
The Finn, starting from second on the grid, was left with a puncture and damage to his front wing after colliding with fellow countryman Kimi Raikkonen at Turn 2 on the opening lap in Baku, forcing him into an early stop which left him a lap down on the rest of the field. Bottas was so far down the order that even a Safety Car period to recover Daniil Kvyat's stricken Toro Rosso did not enable him to catch up to the pack.