As Motorsport.com reports, Cadillac Formula 1 driver Valtteri Bottas decided to skip a standard flight between back-to-back grands prix and instead cycle 350 kilometres (217 miles) from the Sepang International Circuit to Singapore.
The Finnish driver kicked off this multi-day endurance ride right after his early retirement from Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. The race itself took place at Sepang, marking the first time F1 has returned to the venue since 2017, and it was won by Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
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.
Unfortunately, Bottas's time on track was short. He gambled on starting with slick tyres, spun into the gravel, and retired just nine laps in, which brought out the safety car.
"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," Bottas explained in the post-race team debrief.
"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."
Instead of heading straight to Singapore with the rest of the paddock, the Cadillac driver set off on the first stint of his journey south toward the Marina Bay Street Circuit on Sunday evening. He plans to break the trip into stages, aiming to reach Singapore in time for Thursday's mandatory media commitments.
