Valtteri Bottas admits Alfa Romeo decision ‘felt strange’ after ‘lucky’ Qatar GP

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Valtteri Bottas admits he found the decision to pit on Lap 3 of the Qatar Grand Prix ‘a bit strange’ but an early change of tyres meant Alfa Romeo capitalised on their ‘luck’.

The Sauber-run team scored a double points-scoring finish at the Lusail International Circuit last Sunday. Bottas came home in P8 ahead of his Alfa Romeo teammate, Zhou Guanyu. The pair claimed four and two points respectively to move above Haas in the constructors’ table.

Alfa Romeo now rank in eighth place with a four-point lead over the American-owned outfit. AlphaTauri prop up the constructors’ championship with just five points to Alfa Romeo on 16 and Haas with 12. The small margins will be huge when Formula 1 gives its prize money out.

Bottas found Alfa Romeo’s decision to pit early ‘strange’

Bottas also made good use of the upgrades that Alfa Romeo first introduced in Singapore to qualify in P9. Yet the Hinwil, Switzerland-based squad gave up their strong position in the F1 pack after pitting early. Alfa Romeo brought the 34-year-old in under the safety car on Lap 3.

Alfa Romeo saw scope to take advantage of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and George Russell’s first lap crash. The time the marshals took to clear the debris at the first corner ensured the team would only require two further pit stops owing to Pirelli’s 18-lap mandated tyre stints.

But giving up a strong place in the order felt ‘strange’ to Bottas when Alfa Romeo called the Finn in. However, the race justified the team’s decision as he and Zhou – who pitted on laps 18, 35 and 52 – scored points and capitalised on any luck with Carlos Sainz also not starting.

“It was a really clean race, we had a good strategy,” Bottas said, via quotes by Motorsport-Total. “Of course, it felt a bit strange coming into the pits from a good position after three laps. But, in the end, that meant all the other stints were the same length.

“We thought that would be the quickest way to the chequered flag and it was. We were lucky in a way because Lewis was out and Sainz wasn’t at the start, either.

“So, yes, otherwise it would have been difficult. But sometimes you just need a bit of luck. And today we just did everything right.”

Alfa Romeo took full advantage of any ‘luck’ at the Qatar GP

Ferrari retired Sainz before the Qatar GP even started after they realised a fuel system leak in the Spaniard’s car. The Scuderia did not have the time to repair the issue to leave P12 on the grid empty. Hamilton’s Grand Prix then ended at Turn 1 of Lap 1 after crashing with Russell.

The ensuing safety car period allowed Alfa Romeo to give Bottas a cheap pit stop and better his hopes of a strong Qatar GP result. He spent 29.9 seconds in the pit lane on Lap 3 but lost less with the reduced speeds. The Lusail circuit has one of the longest pit lanes in Formula 1.