Valtteri Bottas reveals 'jungle mind games' on 'epic' journey to Singapore

Valtteri Bottas has delivered an insight into his "epic" journey that he undertook travelling from Malaysia to Singapore this weekend.

After the race weekend in Sepang, rather than do the usual commute of travelling by plane, Bottas opted to cycle the journey.

On Sunday after the grand prix in Malaysia, Bottas cycled 56 kilometres from the track to Port Dickson.

However, Monday and Tuesday marked the biggest legs of his journey as he cycled 322 km across both days, arriving in Johor Bahru on Tuesday evening.

He then completed the final leg of 40km to Singapore on Wednesday.

The unusual nature of the journey captured attention ahead of this weekend's race in Singapore, which is considered to be the greatest physical test the drivers face all season due to the heat and humidity.

Bottas insisted the journey was thoroughly planned to ensure he would not be exhausted by the time it came to drive his Cadillac F1 car again.

"I obviously wouldn't do it if I knew it would hurt my performance," Bottas told media including RacingNews365.

"The amount of sweat in those days was quite impressive. But definitely, you get used to the heat. So that can help me, hopefully a little bit.

"I think Tiffany mentioned it as a joke, 'hey, you could just ride from there, it's not that far'.

"Then I was like, 'Hmm, maybe I could'. I obviously had to check the distance, how the roads are, the timings, and then just made a solid plan for each day.

"All the routes were planned. I also planned that the two bigger days were Monday and Tuesday, so they're not too close to the race weekend.

"If I did a big day on, let's say, Wednesday, then that could already compromise my Friday in terms of recovery.

"Yesterday ended up being a short ride, a recovery ride. Today I can have an easy day."

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Bottas reveals run-ins with wildlife during cycle

Bottas' unique journey also saw him ride through the darkness and through some regions of jungle, adding a mental challenge to the physical one.

The ride did not come without its perils, as Bottas had to navigate some of the local wildlife en route to the Marina Bay Circuit.

"I saw some snakes, which I was a little bit worried about, but actually they were pretty chill. They were just doing their thing," he said.

"I saw one cobra, one python just crossing the path in front of me. I saw some of those big lizards that you also see here [in Singapore], one was on the path.

"I had to jump over it on a bike because I saw it last minute. I got chased by one dog, I got stuck behind a group of cows on one small track.

"Eventually they moved away. The wildest part was the riding at night in the jungle. The noise in there, your mind starts to play games.

"'What is out there? Who knows what is out there?' But then you just need to crack on and keep going.

"Riding with your lights at night, that was probably the most epic part in the forest."

Bottas commended the Malaysian and Singapore locals for their attitude towards his journey, revealing he was recognised on some parts of the ride.

"I did have some road sections, but as much as possible was off-road," he said.

"Even the locals, the cars, they were really polite. They always would leave lots of space.

"Once the news started to break that I'm actually doing it, there were some locals who recognised me, cheering me on, which was cool."