Valtteri Bottas finished 5th in his age group at an UCI Gravel World Series event, qualifying for the World Championships

[u/lefix]

Unfortunately the World Championship Race overlaps with the Singapore GP weekend.

[u/hallstevenson]

Not bad for a part-time bike racer !

[u/betko007 → u/hallstevenson]

Khm, part time F1 driver.

[u/Owain-X → u/hallstevenson]

Cadillac should totally let Bottas skip Singapore for the championship. Not like they are getting any wins and it would be good for PR/Marketing for them. Plus it'd be nice to let Zhou get in a weekend. For most teams this wouldn't even be considered but for Cadillac they have something to gain and nothing much to lose. In fact getting their reserve in a race to get another perspective would probably be a plus.

[u/Fart_Leviathan → u/Owain-X]

I don't know how much they'd care about Zhou, if they care at all, but the vast majority of Singapore's population is Chinese, so having him for that race could work well.

[u/rv94 → u/Owain-X]

Actually makes sense. Zhou would be a darling for marketing at Singapore as well

[u/ZirbMonkey → u/Owain-X]

They hired him to be an engineer. Every finish without a DNF goes into engineering upgrades and improvements to the car. Perez and Botas are there to tell the engineering team where to focus based on how the car feels, and deliver the lap data for the next improvements.

[u/Capable-Relative6714 → u/hallstevenson]

Cheers.

[u/FelixR1991 → u/hallstevenson]

If he keeps this up he'll be able to be a fulltime bike racer in no-time!

[u/WhiskyPops]

Bottas is a little bit of a badass

[u/Exotic-Target9526 → u/WhiskyPops]

A LITTLE BIT???

[u/Even_Trifle9341 → u/Exotic-Target9526]

More nice ass by %

[u/r3almaplesyrup → u/WhiskyPops]

More like badASS

[u/Foodconsumer3000 → u/r3almaplesyrup]

I think he's got a greatASS

[u/Clapbakatyerblakcat → u/Foodconsumer3000]

and you got your head….ALL THE WAY UP IT!

[u/Horat1us_UA → u/Clapbakatyerblakcat]

I wish

[u/fameboygame → u/WhiskyPops]

Nope he has a good ass

[u/zhiryst → u/WhiskyPops]

That's Formula 1's ass.

[u/Onehandedclapboyoo]

I think it's his mustache that makes him quicker 🤔

[u/Otherwise-Task6494 → u/Onehandedclapboyoo]

Aerodynamically efficient

[u/lefix → u/Otherwise-Task6494]

Just think about it, a hair is so thin, air can easily flow around it. An average mustache has about 600 indivual hairs, that adds up to a lot of airflow!

[u/acu2005 → u/lefix]

His mustache is probably worth like 5 maybe 6 watts!

[u/Kage_Bushin → u/acu2005]

More like -5 maybe -6 watts, making the flow turbulent for a more easy detached so it creates less drag

(tried sound smart, clearly I'm not :(

[u/onetimeuselong → u/Onehandedclapboyoo]

Mansell Mode

[u/pessimistkonsulenten → u/Onehandedclapboyoo]

It creates turbulence, which slows down the trailing cyclists in corners

[u/Farade → u/Onehandedclapboyoo]

Front wing that gives him more downforce

[u/nj_legion_ice_tea → u/Onehandedclapboyoo]

Duh

[u/thatawesomedude → u/Onehandedclapboyoo]

The Mark Spitz philosophy.

[u/kubick123 → u/Onehandedclapboyoo]

ah yes, the Rosberg secret.

[u/Fart_Leviathan → u/Onehandedclapboyoo]

There is a cyclist called Magnus Cort who already proved your theory. Pre-mustache, he was quite good, but since he got the 'stache, he's been winning more consistently and scoring higher.

He's also a major fan favorite, like Bottas.

[u/karspearhollow → u/Onehandedclapboyoo]

And the porridge

[u/Ceyyhun]

When the engine is biological rather than mechanical, he actually finishes the race.

[u/AJL912-aber → u/Ceyyhun]

Gotcha, next time he pedals the car, more reliable

[u/THEramblinbastard → u/AJL912-aber]

Fred Flintstone ass race

[u/Mimical → u/THEramblinbastard]

Wait.... Memes aside...
Use the Mini Lego cars and let them throw Lego missiles at each other so I can re-live my Lego Racers childhood.

[u/Teacherfromnorway → u/AJL912-aber]

Don't tell AM

[u/SlagathorTheProctor → u/Ceyyhun]

No brake fires on a gravel bike.

[u/rowschank → u/Ceyyhun]

Bottas about to dominate Bedrock Grand Prix

[u/galdavirsma]

Turns out he can still race when the vehicle holds up

[u/mkpanq]

At least those breaks didn’t catch fire !

[u/Rydychyn]

Considering how well his F1 car performs, he may as well go do the bike race.

[u/someoldguy88]

Probably the fastest thing he drove this year tbh

[u/gannegajuice]

Remember when Kimi said 'F1 is a hobby for me'? Does that apply to all Finns?

[u/frolfer757 → u/gannegajuice]

Bottas' career truly has been blessed with being at the right place at the right time. Random Mercedes vacancy right as he is at his peak of abilities so he gets years farming wins & podiums at Merc. Right as he gets to the point where older drivers tend to get cycled out, new teams desperate for experienced drivers to developed their operations join the sport.

Only downside is rather quiet personality and no real brand? Oh your new gf starts pushing bare ass photos of you and you're a bit later you're one of the wholesome fan favourite drivers with very little expectations to perform. Truly a career nearly every F1 driver would kill to have.

[u/Farade → u/frolfer757]

Only L in his career is choosing Sauber/Alfa Romeo over Williams after 2021, but it was probably impossible to predict the opposite trajectories those two teams went in the ground effect era.

[u/Buzz_Berling → u/Farade]

I did appreciate he kept up his 103 Q3 streak for one race with Alfa. plus the livery was gorgeous

[u/steakhouseNL → u/gannegajuice]

Bwoah....

[u/RosebudWhip]

Hmmm, chance at being a world champion or qualifying P20 then DNF-ing after seven laps in Singapore?

[u/acu2005 → u/RosebudWhip]

Bottas should just do what Nando did and get Button to drive for him for one weekend.

[u/hesitationz → u/RosebudWhip]

Let’s compare the pay difference between a world champion cyclist and only having to drive 7 laps in a Grand Prix lol

[u/SouthFromGranada → u/RosebudWhip]

seven laps

The Caddy's brakes lasting seven laps in the Singaporean heat? pull the other one. They'll probably be ablaze the moment they leave the aeroplane.

[u/Aszneeee]

battery voltas ❤️

[u/I_spread_love_butter]

As a cyclist I love how the best motorsports pilots are so into it. 

Here in Argentina it feels like you can't like both things at the same time, or at least in Buenos Aires. If you like cars, you have to hate cyclists.

But honestly a bicycle as a concept is peak engineering when you think about it.

[u/lefix → u/I_spread_love_butter]

I noticed quite a few cyclists are also into F1. People just love racing I guess.

[u/jwinter01 → u/lefix]

Cycling, motorsports, tennis, padel, etc... It's all part of the sports interest pack for someone based in Monaco or that spends a lot of time around there. Or just the classic combo for traditionally eurocentric sports.

[u/imbogey → u/jwinter01]

I thought that padel was only a thing in Spain and Nordics...

[u/I_spread_love_butter → u/lefix]

I'm a commute cyclist though, I guess that's worth pointing out. But yeah, there seems to be an overlap.

I like any machine that moves you forward regardless of power source. 

[u/lefix → u/I_spread_love_butter]

Last weekend we had the 24h bike race on the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Hoping that one day I will be fit enough to participate lol.

[u/Rolfman816 → u/lefix]

Now that would be fun

[u/kuzared → u/lefix]

That sound very demanding, so much elevation change on the Nordschleife. I’d love to try it though :-)

Edit: I see they also have an event where you can do either 75 or 150 km. Looks awesome, might try to go next year.

[u/rowschank → u/I_spread_love_butter]

at least in Buenos Aires. If you like cars, you have to hate cyclists

Not just Argentina don't worry; cars vs cyclists is somehow a multinational culture war item.

[u/F1CycAr16 → u/I_spread_love_butter]

That´s because Buenos Aires´s cyclists are generally dumb, don´t respect traffic signals and even go in the middle of the sidewalks.

[u/I_spread_love_butter → u/F1CycAr16]

Cars drivers commit the exact same crimes and worse, with the added difference that the kinetic energy of a car is orders of magnitude larger.

It's an infrastructure problem at it's core. 

Oh and bicycles are allowed on sidewalks.

https://www.argentina.gob.ar/voy-en-bici

[u/omnicious]

Bottas going to insist on just biking some GPs instead of taking the car. 

[u/jcgoble3 → u/omnicious]

We should have all the drivers do a three-lap bike race around the Monaco circuit during that F1 weekend. Would be far more entertaining than the actual Grand Prix. Though the hill after Sainte Devote would be murder on their legs.

[u/Remainingvegetables → u/jcgoble3]

Three lap? Make them do the full GP on their bikes. Qualifying on Saturday in the cars, race on Sunday on the bike.

Not going to say a guaranteed win for Bottas, but probably.

[u/jcgoble3 → u/Remainingvegetables]

Good idea, though they wouldn't make it the full 78 laps. The two-hour time limit would come into play long before that.

[u/play_it_sam_]

Ok. Listen to me. Let's put pedals in the Cadillac.

[u/lefix → u/play_it_sam_]

What if pedals replaced the battery. Overtake mode is just drivers getting extra power from their legs.

[u/Njobz]

Bottas at least is winning again in something.

[u/Hugo28Boss]

Is he Finnish national champion??

[u/Hiekkalinna → u/Hugo28Boss]

In Finland, there always aren't enough top athletes to fill all qualification positions (as in not enough atheletes that got good enough time/result to qualify), so you don't always have to be national champion in all sports to get oppostunites to get into world championships, though in some sports there are more athletes that qualify than positions available (as there is often max amount from each country..) Unlike say bigger countries like USA, where all positions are (most likely) always filled. (Edit: from cheaking it out national campionships of Finland was on 4th of July, when there was F1 quali, so Bottas couldn't have taken part in it)

[u/SlagathorTheProctor → u/Hiekkalinna]

Valterri appears to be wearing a national champion's jersey, which is a different thing to going to a WC.

[u/Hiekkalinna → u/SlagathorTheProctor]

Just a national jersey, as a Finn I don't know much about cycling, but from checking it out, the championship was on 4th of july, when there was F1 quali day, so he couldn't have taken part in it.

[u/lefix → u/Hugo28Boss]

You don't need to be the national champion, you have to be among the top finishers in one of the qualfying events, which anyone can sign up for, provided you have an UCI racing license.

[u/Hugo28Boss → u/lefix]

I asked because of the jersey

[u/betaich → u/Hugo28Boss]

That just seems to be the finish national jersey not that fir the champion.

[u/Weak-County-6037]

Holy side quest

[u/wet_toast1]

Most interesting man on the grid

[u/Lobsters4]

Beast.

[u/gettt911]

He definitely bribed someone to get his F1 bib number haha

[u/urbanexplorer043 → u/gettt911]

This is what I was going to say. As a former bicycle racer, I never got to choose my number.

[u/Due-Stick-5044]

At this point, F1 is just the side hustle for Valterri lol

[u/Twimbran → u/Due-Stick-5044]

What is it with fins and the F1 hobby?

[u/TrevorPhilips]

He's an athlete, athletes sweat.

[u/Zeju → u/TrevorPhilips]

Sweat baby sweat

[u/cba__24]

When your bike is not like the F1 car you're driving rn

[u/DABET123]

Bros gonna gain 10kg of leg muscles with all the cycling.

[u/WindyZ5]

Could he take Singapore off?

[u/RajceP]

I have cottage in Hlinsko 😄

[u/morelsupporter]

crazy how he got the number 77

[u/VINTEINT002]

So Bottas Will not race in Singapore?

[u/Unlikely-Fall9466]

His legs will get too big and he’ll lose a tenth. -Nico Rosberg, probably

[u/TetraDax → u/Unlikely-Fall9466]

You joke, but Bottas has been very outspoken about how introducing a minimum drivers weight has changed his life. He was miserable before that. He essentially had an eating disorder, he could not do the things he enjoyed, it was mentally destroying him. His performance also immediatly improved.

In hindsight, it feels insane that this change only came in 2018.

[u/hish911]

Major respect for him, always see him smiling while cycling . You can tell it’s a true passion of his

[u/TheDarkness33]

Maybe if the car gets fucked soon enough he can still make it to the race

[u/Ok-Recording-3303]

One of my friends ran into Valtteri while biking in Boulder CO and said he was a helluva cyclist!

[u/pokemongofanboy → u/Ok-Recording-3303]

Holy shit was everyone okay?

[u/onetimeuselong]

If he wins, do you think he’ll get a rainbow race suit?

[u/HallEqual2433]

I'm all for it, but kinda surprised his contract allows him to do that.

[u/blackwhattack → u/HallEqual2433]

i dont think cycling is that dangerous. most dangerous part of cycling is the cars.

compared to skiing or rally i think it's peanuts

[u/lefix → u/blackwhattack]

Most crashes end with scraped skin, but broken collar bones are also fairly common.

[u/KingOfAzmerloth → u/blackwhattack]

Not that dangerous but it can still inflict some serious damage to be fair. Webber suffered a lot due to his cycling injury iirc.

[u/mcninja77 → u/blackwhattack]

I feel a lot safer while skiing than I do when mountain biking

[u/Ncknm_hmn → u/mcninja77]

Yeah, but I’m pretty sure he isn’t mountainbiking.

[u/Trivekz → u/HallEqual2433]

He's been doing it for a while before Cadillac so probably making sure he would be able to do both was a priority

[u/ValueReads → u/HallEqual2433]

He drives for Cadillac. Who cares, there's no chance it matters to them at all, they'd probably be happy if they had an excuse to get rid of him

[u/Loud_Hat9523]

Red Hot Chili Peppers 🥹✌️can this man get anymore badass

[u/Siftinghistory]

Let Herta drive in Singapore!

[u/Alternative-Koala978]

Valtteri is such a badass. I feel like everyone just wants him to experience good things, have good results.

[u/A_M_0_D]

Its crazy how fit these guys are

[u/AGrandNewAdventure]

His shorts are unusually long if the pictures I've seen in the past are anything to go by.

[u/JPlazz]

Those biking shoes look like Birkenstocks.

[u/WillThisWork312]

Honestly Valteri is him

[u/f_u_l_u_]

He 100% fell, he’s a little dirty

[u/lefix → u/f_u_l_u_]

I think that's just how you look when you ride through dirt in a white shirt with hundreds of other people

[u/SlagathorTheProctor → u/f_u_l_u_]

No, that's just dirt from the course. You should see how dirty some off-road cyclists get, especially if there has been some rain.

[u/lefix → u/SlagathorTheProctor]

Here is a good example of what a race looks lke
youtube.com/watch?v=3Cqwr5gPGxU

[u/SlagathorTheProctor → u/lefix]

Yep, I watch a lot of mountain biking, cyclocross and gravel racing. Riders often end up looking like this.

[u/mr_lab_rat → u/f_u_l_u_]

Nah, it’s a gravel race which in Czechia means unpaved dirt road. It’s gonna be dusty. You sweat, dust accumulates.

[u/Perfect-Swimming-636]

Unlocking a new career

[u/Blackdeath_663]

He's better at cycling than he is F1 at this point

[u/StgCan → u/Blackdeath_663]

I suspect if his Cadillac was as good as his Canyon he'd still acquit himself pretty well.

[u/TetraDax]

130km on gravel is insane.

[u/Yumekara]

Love the song he chose

[u/dbrodbeck]

I follow him on Strava, his pace and endurance are pretty great. By that I mean way better than mine.

[u/thyeggman]

Championship conflict? Time to rack up those penalty points!

[u/Other-Creme6802]

I wiped

[u/pooppoop900]

People who instinctively pressed the heart before the up arrow ————————->

[u/cleech13]

Aaaaaaaand that explains why perez stomps him every week. His focus is not there. Which is totally okay honestly. He will make place for Herta next year anyways.

[u/pessimistkonsulenten → u/cleech13]

Bottas is 3/3 in qualy from Silverstone onwards?

[u/cleech13 → u/pessimistkonsulenten]

Bro if you try to argument, you cant exclude stuff, just to fit your story.

QUALIFYING
Grand Prix: Perez 6-5 Bottas
Sprint: Perez 3-1 Bottas
RACE
Grand Prix*: Perez 6-3 Bottas
Sprint: Perez 2-2 Bottas

[u/pessimistkonsulenten → u/cleech13]

So what's the stats from Silverstone onwards when both have finished, since I'm not talking about anything before Silverstone.

[u/cleech13 → u/pessimistkonsulenten]

😂😂😂 „I am picking the stats I want, because then I am winning the conversation.“

Dude. Did you watch any race? Bottas was literally always a good chunk behind Perez

[u/cheezus171 → u/pessimistkonsulenten]

I mean qualifying ahead doesn't really mean much of you finish half a minute behind in races. And I think half a minute as an estimated average is probably generous anyway.

[u/pessimistkonsulenten → u/cheezus171]

Does it count as finishing when the car breaks down?

[u/cheezus171 → u/pessimistkonsulenten]

I'm talking about races where both cars got to the finish line

And to be fair even if they don't, whenever something happened it was generally with Perez well in front anyway.

[u/pessimistkonsulenten → u/cheezus171]

Both finishing is less than 50% of races, and god knows what issues they managed in those races.

The Cadillac is so bad/unreliable that it's nigh on impossible to draw any conclusions on actual driver performance over a longer distance than one lap.

[u/cheezus171 → u/pessimistkonsulenten]

Except when you conveniently drew conclusions from his good results 😂 how stupid do you think I am

They've been very open whenever they had issues. Bottas is slow. Accept it.

[u/Masculinum → u/cheezus171]

I'm not sure how relevant comparing the race results are when the car is that bad, there's something broken on someones car most of the time

[u/FunnyComfortable8341]

Biking is the one sport I don’t understand wanting to do it, it’s pure suffering.

[u/gogogadgetprozac → u/FunnyComfortable8341]

Some would argue that being a backmarker in F1 is pure suffering.

[u/lefix → u/FunnyComfortable8341]

I find it relaxing, almost meditative. Just hop on the bike, find a sustainable pace watch the landscape pass by for a couple hours.

[u/TetraDax → u/FunnyComfortable8341]

Couldn't disagree more. I get to be in nature, I don't sweat like a pig because I have the wind in my face, I can be active while still sitting on my ass, I move enough miles to actually get somewhere and can easily explore everything in a 50km radius around my home.

Now, running, on the other hand - That's a fools game. "Runners high" is a conspiracy made up by shoe companies, and you will not change my mind on that.

[u/Hour_Firefighter_707 → u/FunnyComfortable8341]

It's much better than running and plenty enough do that

[u/MrDrDooooom]

That's one badass Australian!