Latest on Formula One star snubs private jets to CYCLE remarkable 350km journey from Malaysia to Singapore for Grand Prix this weekend

Formula One star Valtteri Bottas has taken the unique decision to cycle to the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend. The majority of drivers tend to travel to races on private jets, but Bottas, 37, has snubbed that option to take his own route across Asia. The Finnish driver crashed out of Sunday's chaotic Bahrain Grand Prix, which was held in Malaysia due to security concerns in the Middle East, and he will have to make up 350km (217 miles) to get to Singapore.

Bottas began his odyssey shortly after the race finished in Malaysia, and he has been documenting it on social media. The 37-year-old has shared several videos and snaps, including one which was captioned: 'Taking the path less travelled (and maybe a bit longer).' In another post on X, Bottas posted a video of him cycling at night and added: 'Yea I'm riding to Singapore. Yea Im riding to Singapore 🚲On the gravel roads less travelled with my new @canyon_bikes Grail CFR.See you there 🇸🇬 pic.twitter.com/jFKZCM6Vnq Valtteri Bottas has taken the unique decision to cycle to the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend 'On the gravel roads less travelled with my new @canyon_bikes Grail CFR.

What we know

See you there.' Bottas is travelling alongside his partner Tiffany Cromwell, who is a professional cyclist from Australia, and needs to make it there by Thursday to fulfil his media commitments. The journey is off-road and on gravel, and on Monday, during the second day of Bottas' cycle, he covered 161.91km across nearly six hours. It is an unusual way to travel to a race for an F1 driver, yet it is perhaps no surprise that Bottas is undertaking it given he has history of completing cycling-related endeavours, often with Cromwell.

Why it matters

This included him qualifying for the Gravel World Championships after coming fifth in an off-road qualifying event in the Czech Republic during the summer. However, given that event comes this weekend, he will be unable to compete. In the past, he has also taken part in gravel races, while he is known to be involved with FNLD GRVL, a yearly race in his native Finland.

Bottas has ten wins in his F1 career, but he has endured a difficult 2026 season with Cadillac after spending last year as Mercedes' reserve driver. After 16 races, the 37-year-old is yet to score a point and he has failed to finish eight of those.