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WATCH: Valtteri Bottas Sees the Funny Side of His Costly Qatar GP Puncture

Published 11/23/2021, 9:03 AM EST

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via Reuters

Ever since F1 flagged off the 2021 season, Valtteri Bottas has often been a victim of dismal luck having endured untimely hurdles in races that had big points for the taking.

One such race was the Qatar Grand Prix where it almost looked like the Finn could clinch his second consecutive podium since Interlagos, but then, Pirelli had other ideas. Bottas’ W12 suffered a front-left puncture, as drove straight into the gravel only to damage his car.

He did get a change of tires and the front wing and was on course to finish in the points. Unfortunately, with the damages being a bit too significant, Mercedes called Bottas back into the pits to retire the car. The weekend couldn’t have gone any worse for the Finn.

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But, well, with a refreshing journey awaiting at the end of this season, Bottas has been taking these hurdles in the lightest way possible. In a recent social media post, the soon-to-be Alfa Romeo driver mocked his Qatar GP outing in the most amusing way.

What did Valtteri Bottas say?

Following the horrendous weekend in Qatar, it looks like Bottas, along with his girlfriend, Tiffany Cromwell, flew down to France where the duo went for a bike ride along the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea, including Monte Carlo.

In the social media update of his cycling route, Bottas made sure that he mentioned something relevant enough to his racing weekend in Qatar. He wrote, “Afternoon ride. No punctures today.

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Who is to blame for the puncture in Qatar?

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The entire F1 community felt that self-troll from Bottas. But, of course, Bottas wasn’t the only driver who faced the wrath of the aggressive kerbs at the Losail International Circuit. Apart from the Finn, his future Mercedes successor, George Russell, Nicholas Latifi, and Lando Norris, too, had to cope with the punctures.

via Reuters

Yes, Bottas has been unlucky over several occasions this season. However, in Qatar, it was his race start that played a significant role in wrecking the rest of his evening. Bottas spent most of his time in traffic, pushing very hard and making moves, consequently missing the racing line.

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And this may have caused the tires to take quite a beating. And of course, the finale – the kerbs made sure that his front-left shreds into pieces. Hence, certainly not the end he would have wanted to the Qatar GP. But, will his fortunes take a turn to the best in Saudi Arabia?

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Written by:

Rohit Kumar

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Rohit Kumar is an F1 author at EssentiallySports. He has been an ardent follower of the racing series since 2007, with his love for the sport coinciding with his love for Kimi Raikkonen. He is also an ardent follower of Sebastian Vettel and Aston Martin Racing.
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