Most F1 drivers spend the week between races on a plane, in a hotel gym or on a sim rig. Valtteri Bottas is on a bike. The Cadillac driver set off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport at the start of the week and plans to ride the roughly 350 kilometres down the Malay Peninsula to Singapore in time for Thursday’s mandatory media day at Marina Bay.
The 37-year-old Finn opened his trip with a 56.6-kilometre first leg toward Port Dickson, logged publicly on Strava and spotted by cycling fans within hours. Endurance cycling is the centre of his off-track life. He competes in gravel events alongside his partner, Australian professional cyclist Tiffany Cromwell, and typically spends his race-season weeks on long rides rather than in a hotel.
From a slick-tyre gamble to a bike saddle
The commute follows an early retirement from the previous round, where Bottas gambled on slick tyres on a damp track and crashed out of contention. Rather than fly ahead to the next race, he turned the layover into training.
Night-time stretches have already featured on his documented route, lit by a handlebar lamp on dark highways and ridden through tropical daytime heat.
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First-ever Marina Bay Sprint awaits
Bottas is riding into a race weekend that is itself a first. Singapore hosts its debut F1 Sprint across Friday and Saturday, 9 and 10 October, with the main race on Sunday 11 October. The weekend packs in one free practice, one Sprint and two qualifying sessions, run in the humidity and cockpit heat that make Marina Bay one of the most physically punishing races on the calendar.
Kimi Antonelli leads the drivers’ standings on 292 points, 81 clear of Mercedes teammate George Russell. The Marina Bay weekend offers both a Sprint race and a grand prix to extend the gap.
By Thursday, Bottas will have swapped the gravel bike for a Cadillac race seat under lights at Marina Bay. Lights out on Sunday is at 8pm local time.
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