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Canadian Grand Prix runner-up Valtteri Bottas has said that his Mercedes team "really needed" the 1-2 finish it achieved in Montreal on Sunday, after a Monaco race that the Silver Arrows ended in fourth and seventh.
Bottas' team-mate Lewis Hamilton made good use of his 65th pole position to win the race, whilst the Finn started third and suffered a first lap setback that caused him to lose out.
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After Max Verstappen's retirement, however, he inherited second and held on for his fourth podium visit of 2017 so far. Speaking after the chequered flag fell, Bottas said: "For sure it felt good, thank you Montreal, it's my fifth time racing here and my third time up on the podium.
"It is a good place for me and always good to be here. As a team, we really needed this 1-2 to get those points. After a tough race in Monaco, I'm really impressed by what the team has done to get everything together and how much we could improve in two weeks is impressive.
"The beginning was a bit tough being behind Red Bull and then I got stuck behind one of the Force Indias, so I lost some time there. Then we split strategies, I went for the soft. I knew what I had to do in the end, to bring the car home and get the points."
Mason Hawker
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
C. Sainz jr
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Its so close between them. I expect Mercedes to win in Baku, maybe even get a 1-2 again, but after that, Ferrari should have a decent shot again. What does worry me is that Vettel has already used all 4 turbos he is allowed, one more from, say an upgrade, will net him a penalty, potentially ruining his championship winning chances. And I dont think he can repeat what Hamilton did last year, bring several PUs to one weekend and grab all penalties in one race, pretty sure they dont allow that anymore.