The Qatar Grand Prix did not go entirely according to plan for Valtteri Bottas. The Mercedes driver was given a three-place grid penalty for ignoring a yellow flag during qualifying, and was massively outgunned at the start by several drivers. On lap 33, he punctured his tyres too much, causing a number of dangerous situations.

"I have a puncture," Bottas reported on the on-board radio as he crashed into the gravel trap. His team wanted him to hit the pits as soon as possible, as the Finn continued at full throttle on three tyres in the meantime.

Bottas nearly causes collision with Perez

In the process, he almost caused a collision with Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez, who passed Bottas while he was trying to keep his car on the track.

The Finn was not too far from the pits, so he was able to come in for a tyre change and a new front wing. He fell back a long way though and will have to do everything possible to get his Mercedes back into the top ten.

Een lekke band voor Valtteri Bottas!
Het levert ook nog eens de nodige gevaarlijke momenten op #ZiggoSport #F1 #QatarGP pic.twitter.com/4mSfxf4kVs

— Ziggo Sport Racing (@ZS_Racing) November 21, 2021