Valtteri Bottas has decided to swap a one-hour flight for a 220-mile cycle ride, making his way from Malaysia to Singapore for the next grand prix.
The Cadillac driver spun out of Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix, taking place for one year only at the Sepang International Circuit, 40 miles outside the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur.
Yet straight after the race, the 37-year-old revealed on Strava that he was planning to cycle from the Malaysian track to the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore, in time for obligatory media duties on Thursday.
Bottas’ journey involved cycling in darkness and he brushed off some close encounters with wildlife along his route.
“I saw some snakes, which I was a little bit worried about, but actually they were pretty chill. They were just doing their thing,” he said.
“I saw one cobra, one python just crossing the path in front of me. I saw some of those big lizards that you also see here, one was on the path.
“I had to jump over it on a bike because I saw it last minute. I got chased by one dog, I got stuck behind a group of cows on one small track.
“The wildest part was the riding at night in the jungle. The noise in there, your mind starts to play games.
“‘What is out there? Who knows what is out there?’ But then you just need to crack on and keep going.”
Bottas, who formerly raced for Williams, Mercedes and Alfa Romeo/Sauber and has won 10 times in Formula 1, is a keen cyclist, regularly undertaking rides around F1 tracks and in the south of France. He has also qualified for the gravel world championships on multiple occasions.
Cadillac, who also boast fellow grand prix winner Sergio Perez in their ranks, are yet to score a point in their first season in the sport.
On Sunday, Bottas spun into the gravel and out of the race nine laps in as he opted to start on ‘slick’ dry tyres despite the wet conditions.
"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,” he said afterwards.
"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."
Cadillac have seven more opportunities to avoid becoming the first team since Haas in 2021 not to score a world championship point in a single season.
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