Cadillac driver Valtteri Bottas has opted for an uncommon path to this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, avoiding a brief flight and as a substitute biking the 350km (217 miles) from Malaysia.
His journey started simply hours after spinning out of Sunday’s chaotic Bahrain Grand Prix, which was held at Sepang exterior the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur as a one-off.
The Finnish driver is making the journey – a lot of which is off-road and on gravel – alongside his associate, skilled bike owner Tiffany Cromwell, and can should be in Singapore for his media commitments on Thursday.
On Monday, stage two of his journey, he spent practically six hours on his bike, masking 161.91km.
Swapping the motive force’s seat for the saddle earlier than reaching the warmth and humidity of Marina Bay this weekend is simply one other in a collection of cycling-related endeavours for Bottas.
The 37-year-old earned a spot on the Gravel World Championships following a fifth-placed end in his age group as an off-road qualifying occasion within the Czech Republic throughout System 1’s summer time hiatus.
However the World Championships happen on the identical weekend because the Singapore Grand Prix, so he shall be unable to make use of his place.
Bottas is carefully concerned with FNLD GRVL, a race held every summer time in his native Finland, and, when the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was cancelled in 2023, he determined to make use of the time to compete in a gravel race in Scotland.
Biking has grow to be one in every of Bottas’ fundamental pursuits away from F1, continuously sharing coaching rides and races with Cromwell.
Bottas has endured a tough return to System 1 with new workforce Cadillac this season. He’s twenty second within the drivers’ standings, is but to attain some extent after 16 Grands Prix and has failed to complete eight races.
