George Russell said the unusual circumstances under which he achieved the first top-three results of his career did not affect his sense of pride by finishing second at the Belgian Grand Prix.
Russell finished second on Sunday behind Max Verstappen, despite completing just three laps behind a safety car during an awkward race in wet conditions at Spa Francorchamps.
A handful of laps were enough to ensure that half the points were awarded and, despite no wheel-to-wheel racing, the top three picked up trophies and a sprinkling of sparkling wine in a traditional podium ceremony.
Because conditions were too dangerous to race on Sunday, Russell's second place was secured on Saturday by his excellent qualifying performance in which he mastered the wet conditions to put his Williams second on the grid.
It was the Williams team's first podium since a third-place finish at the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and after an impressive qualifying performance this year, Russell said they would celebrate despite the unusual circumstances.
"It really counts, it really counts, so a little celebration tonight I'm sure," he said. "My whole team deserves it because a lot of hard work has gone into it over the years and there's really nothing to show or prove for it.
"We totally nailed it yesterday and here we are, standing on the podium. I can tell you I didn't expect it this year, that's for sure.
"It's certainly been a very long day - but it's a big result for the whole team. To stand on this podium, really no matter how we got it, is our way to stand on this podium." A big result.
"Remember we finished last in the constructors' championship three years in a row and here we are this weekend, qualifying on the front row and standing on the podium. I really like to achieve this with the team. Proud."
Williams, who scored just eight points in the last three seasons, is now on 20 points this year after scoring in both the Hungarian and Belgian Grand Prix. It is set to finish eighth in the championship this year ahead of Alfa Romeo and Haas, which will be its best result since 2017.
"I believe the number of points we scored in Hungary was probably enough to finish eighth in the constructors [championship], but I believe it would probably have taken even more pressure now." is, to go out, really line everything up, maybe try some more extreme things, see if we can learn anything else - because there's no reason we can't score high "