Sepang to Singapore: Valtteri Bottas cycles 350km with partner ahead of F1 race
Valtteri Bottas has found a rather unusual way to travel to the next Formula 1 race.
After retiring from the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang on Sunday, the Cadillac driver opted against flying or driving to Singapore. Instead, he is cycling roughly 350 kilometres through Malaysia, accompanied by his partner, Australian professional road and gravel cyclist Tiffany Cromwell.
The 37-year-old began the journey shortly after his early exit from the race, with the route taking him through rural roads, plantations, dirt tracks and gravel paths. Bottas posted footage of himself cycling in the dark, while Cromwell had earlier shared videos of the pair training around the Sepang coastline and palm-oil plantations.
Bottas completed 161.91 kilometres in nearly six hours during the second stage of the journey on Monday. He is expected to complete the ride over three days and reach Singapore in time for his mandatory media commitments on Thursday, before practice begins on Friday, according to reports.
The cross-border ride is hardly an impulsive decision for Bottas, who has developed a serious interest in cycling away from the Formula 1 paddock. He regularly competes in gravel events and is a co-founder of FNLD GRVL, a gravel cycling event in Finland. He also recently qualified for the Gravel World Championships, although he will miss the event because it clashes with the Singapore Grand Prix.
Cromwell, meanwhile, is an accomplished professional cyclist in her own right, having competed at the highest level on both road and gravel. The pair frequently train and ride together, making cycling a familiar part of Bottas’ life away from Formula 1.
The ride also comes at the end of a difficult first season for Bottas with Cadillac. The American manufacturer is competing in Formula 1 for the first time this year, with Bottas and Sergio Perez tasked with helping establish the new team.
Bottas has endured a particularly frustrating campaign. After 16 Grands Prix, he sits 22nd in the drivers’ championship without a point, with a best finish of 13th in China and eight retirements.
His latest retirement came after just seven laps at Sepang. Bottas started the wet race on slick tyres, spun into the gravel and was forced out. He later admitted the gamble had not paid off.
Now, before getting back behind the wheel in Singapore, Bottas is putting his cycling legs to work. From Sepang to Singapore, it is a 350-kilometre detour that is considerably longer than the usual trip between two F1 race weekends.
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