“We will need to let Pirelli have a look” – Mercedes explain why Valtteri Bottas was not afforded the opportunity to steal the fastest lap bonus point off Max Verstappen in Qatar

Subham Jindal | 23/11/2021
"We will need to let Pirelli have a look" - Mercedes explain why Valtteri Bottas was not afforded the opportunity to steal the fastest lap bonus point off Max Verstappen in Qatar

“We will need to let Pirelli have a look” – Mercedes couldn’t prevent Max Verstappen from taking the bonus point for the fastest lap in Qatar after Valtteri Bottas had to stop his race in the pits.

Mercedes director of trackside engineering Andrew Shovlin has come up with the answer to a question that troubled viewers watching the Qatar GP – Why did Valtteri Bottas retire from the race when there was no obvious issue with the car?

He was expected to pit for soft tyres and ensure Max Verstappen does not win the bonus point, which he did eventually. As it turns out, there were indeed issues with the Mercedes, all resulting from a front-left tyre failure Bottas suffered in Lap 33.

“No, no. It was rapid [tyre failure] and at the most inconvenient time on the lap where you are just committing to that final corner and there is no opportunity to get into the pits.

“We just made a decision that we would bring the car in. We couldn’t really see how we would get into the points with him and there was quite a lot of aero damage.

“We were starting to get another vibration on that set of tyres, whether it was that or not we will need to let Pirelli have a look at them.

“But ultimately, we decided scoring anything was such a long shot that it just made sense to bring the car back in.”

Also Read “Did anyone else notice that Gasly”– Footage reveals Pierre Gasly helped Max Verstappen to reach near Lewis Hamilton

Post Edited By: Subham Jindal
Mercedes Qatar GP Valtteri Bottas

About the author

Subham Jindal

A Red - be it Manchester United or Ferrari. Hails from the hills of Kalimpong, Darjeeling. Aspiring to become a respected Sports Management professional.

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