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Valtteri Bottas feels his breakthrough third place on the Montreal grid will be worth little if he cannot turn it into his first Formula 1 point-scoring finish in the Canadian Grand Prix.

The Williams driver was the surprise of qualifying after he put the struggling squad in third position, only behind Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton.

Williams is yet to score a point this year, and while Bottas admitted the result was a boost for the team, he conceded he has to finish the job on Sunday.

"Of course I'm happy but there's no points given in qualifying," said Bottas. "It's nice to be up there but the race is tomorrow and that's what counts in the end.

"But of course it's a much better position to start than in any previous races and even in some of those races we were very close to the points, so it should be a great chance to get some points finally."

Bottas believes the race will prove tough if it is dry, as he is aware that the Williams does not have enough pace over long runs.

"It might be tricky again. If that's the case it's going to be about the right strategy, being at the right time with the right tyre," he said.

"A good start is important and basically after that is about trying to keep as many quick cars behind me as possible because the pace in the dry is still not quite enough for a top 10. So it's going to be tricky."

The Finn has also promised to jump in to the St Lawrence river in celebration if he scores a strong result.

"I'm used to swimming in frozen lakes in Finland, so it's no problem."