Bottas says fastest lap 'point can make a difference in the end'

Valtteri Bottas has said that he believes the new rule that gives one championship point to the fastest lap could make a 'big difference' in the driver's championship standings. Bottas picked up the extra point in Australia with a few other drivers also pushing to try and get the fastest time, which created an exciting end to the race. Although it is only a single point, it seems that they could all add up to create a significant difference. 

After the first round, Bottas is leading the driver's championship and will look to increase this in Bahrain this weekend. 

"It's a point and if you get three of those or more it's going to make a big difference at the end of the year," said Bottas to gptoday.net. "You never know. One point can make a difference in the end.

"For sure we're willing to risk, but knowing that if you're about to get 25, 18 points or 15, whatever, they are still more important than getting one extra. So you need to calculate the risk.

"[The rest were] within a stop for an extra set of tyres for it, but with the worn tyres I went for a quick lap and it was worth it."

It will be interesting to see how big a difference this new rule will make during the championship.