Mercedes were trying to clear Fernando Alonso by extending Valtteri Bottas' opening stint in Qatar, but it ultimately backfired. Looking to go long on the medium compound tyres, Bottas became one of four drivers to get struck by a tyre blowout, sending him for a trip into the gravel as part of a slow and painful recovery to the pits. The damage caused by the puncture resulted in Mercedes later deciding to call Bottas back to the garage to retire. It was a race weekend when the Pirelli tyres were on the brink of what they could cope with, Bottas of course being an example of sending them over it, but Mercedes saw stretching out that stint as their best chance of denying Alonso a spot on the...
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