Cadillac Formula 1 driver Valtteri Bottas has chosen to cycle 350 kilometres (217 miles) from the Sepang International Circuit to Singapore rather than take a flight between the back-to-back grands prix.
The Finnish driver began the multi-day endurance ride following his early retirement from Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. The event, held at Sepang, was the first F1 race at the venue since 2017 and was won by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Bottas’s race was brief. After opting to start on slick tyres, he spun into the gravel and retired nine laps into the race, bringing out the safety car.
“It was always going to be a risk starting on the slicks with the soft tyre compound and today, it didn’t quite pay off,” Bottas explained in the post-race team debrief.
“When the race started and I saw how fast the cars with the intermediate tyres went through, you quickly realise the situation you’re in. We thought the track would dry quicker, and we thought it was worth trying something, but in the end it didn’t work out.
“I took some risks trying to keep up with the pack and in the end it was my mistake that ended our race, and I can only apologise to the team for that.”
Rather than travelling directly to Singapore with the rest of the paddock, Bottas began the first stint of his journey south towards the Marina Bay Street Circuit on Sunday evening. The Cadillac driver plans to complete the journey in stages, aiming to arrive in Singapore in time for Thursday’s mandatory media commitments.
“What’s more ridiculous is the rest of them are all flying. It’s about five hours by car, maybe stop somewhere nice on the way. See a bit more of the world than hotel-airport-track,” one fan commented on a post shared by Autosport.
“Give him the WDC. I have seen enough… pack it up Kimi,” someone else posted, while another fan added: “The fact he’s doing this between actual race weekends and not just for a stunt is the most Bottas thing ever.”
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