Bottas: Mercedes 'definitely got lucky' with Singapore 1-3

Valtteri Bottas joked that Mercedes' double podium in Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix was "very good damage limitation" as favourite Ferrari saw both its cars retire on the opening lap of the race.

Sebastian Vettel had been tipped to dominate proceedings in Singapore, only for a three-car clash also involving teammate Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull's Max Verstappen to force the trio to retire on the first lap.

Lewis Hamilton was able to dodge the chaos and take the lead before sweeping to a dominant win, while Bottas rose up the order to take third behind Daniel Ricciardo, extending Mercedes' constructors' championship lead to 102 points.

After a tough Friday and Saturday of running, Bottas was delighted to have bounced back in such fashion and upstage Ferrari.

"Of course it was good for us, very good damage limitation today. We definitely got lucky, but I have to say the car was working better than expected today," Bottas said.

"I was really waiting for the opportunities. Personally I struggled in the wet with the pace, but in the dry it was pretty good, from time to time I could put pressure on Daniel, but that was about it.

"1-2 was a bit tricky for us, 1-3 is nearly perfect, so thank you team."

With Vettel failing to score, the gap between him and Bottas is now smaller than the margin at the top, giving the Finn hope of catching up in the race for second in the championship.

"There are still plenty of races to come and plenty of opportunities," Bottas said.

"Sebastian is the next target."