Bottas says Williams F1 team not making the same mistakes

The Grove-based team has been a podium contender at several races this year with the FW36, but has yet to finish higher than fifth in a grand prix.

Bottas could have finished second in Australia but for clouting the wall and puncturing a rear tyre, while rear tyre degradation problems prevented either Bottas or team-mate Felipe Massa finishing on the podium in Bahrain.

Massa's Chinese GP was compromised by a wheel mix-up at his first pitstop, while a wheelgun failure cost him a genuine shot at winning the recent Canadian GP before his last-lap crash with Sergio Perez.

Bottas' own race in Canada was compromised by ERS and braking issues, but both drivers remain confident Williams will get another chance to convert its pace into a bigger points haul.

"It's always been different things - we haven't been repeating the same kind of mistakes," said Bottas, when asked by AUTOSPORT why Williams continues to underachieve in races.

"For my car in Canada, the conclusion after the race was that we could have done a better job with the strategy, but in the end - with the failure we had with the ERS - there was nothing we could have done."

Bottas reckons May's Spanish GP, where he finished fifth on a circuit that was not expected to suit Williams, should give the team hope of a strong showing in the forthcoming Austrian GP.

"Initial thoughts are that it should be a medium track for us - not the best but not the worst," Bottas said.

"In Barcelona we had a strong race and it was not meant to be the best track for us, so we just need to aim for better results and more points."

Massa added: "It was a big opportunity [to win in Canada], but we have a very good car so I hope we can be competitive again."