Championship points handed out for the fastest lap could make a big difference at the end of the season, Australian Grand Prix winner Valtteri Bottas said.
The Finn clocked a lap of one minute 25.580 seconds late on to deny Red Bull's Max Verstappen the extra point.
It was the first time a point had been awarded for the quickest lap since 1959 and means Bottas leads the championship by eight points over Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
Speaking after the race, Bottas said: "Obviously 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. You never know. One point can make a difference in the end.
"For sure we're willing to risk but if you're about to get 20 or 18 points or 15, whatever, they are still more important than getting one extra.
"So you need to calculate the risk but today was worth it. With the worn tyres I went for a quick lap and it was worth it."
Hamilton, who finished with the second fastest lap, added his team were "going to fight" for the 21 extra points on offer throughout the season.
Verstappen said he was not intending to set a fastest lap with the idea of scoring an extra point - but was attempting to catch Hamilton, who beat the Dutchman to second by 1.634 seconds.
He said: "There are 21 possible points you can get so it can help but, like Valtteri said, at the end of the day it's most important to score 25 or 18, 15, 10.
"Try to go for one more and then it goes wrong, it can happen sometimes. But I think in some situations like today, I was pushing anyway to try and get Lewis so it happened that I was doing, at that time, the fastest lap."
