Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac Racing

Photo by: Lars Baron / Getty Images

Cadillac Formula 1 driver Valtteri Bottas has revealed that his car was stolen during the Miami Grand Prix weekend, leaving the thief with his paddock pass and VIP parking pass, and the FBI was involved.

The Finnish driver detailed how the Cadillac Escalade provided by the team was taken from the driveway of his Airbnb during the What’s Next podcast with Paul Ripke for the Cadillac driver’s YouTube channel.

Rather than staying in central Miami or South Beach, Bottas decided to base himself in Fort Lauderdale for the Miami Grand Prix weekend. However, the calmer setting was disrupted on the Saturday morning. Bottas had returned to his accommodation on Friday evening following practice and sprint qualifying, locked the vehicle securely and left the keys safely in the house.

“So for the Miami Grand Prix, I used to stay in Miami. I’ve stayed in Miami and also South Beach, but Fort Lauderdale is the same or even less of a distance to the track. There’s a bit less traffic. That town is a bit more chill than Miami. I feel like it’s a bit more real. That’s why I stay in Fort Lauderdale. I prefer it to Miami. For me, Miami is a bit much,” Bottas explained.

He added, “I got back Friday as normal. Drove our car to the driveway, had a quick dinner, early to bed. Car keys are inside the house. Car is locked.”

The former Mercedes driver only discovered that the luxury SUV was missing moments before he was due to leave for the Hard Rock Stadium.

“I woke up Saturday morning. I was in the shower about 15 minutes before leaving for the track. And then Paul Harris, who also stayed in the Airbnb, is calling me. And I’m like, ‘Hello? Why are you calling me? I’m like next door.’ He was like, ‘Oh, I was asking where did you go?’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’

“‘Well, the car is gone.’ So, I couldn’t believe it. I went outside, opened the door. The Escalade has vanished. Keys are still inside on the table. I can see them like, ‘What? What? How?’ So, our car got stolen from the driveway of our Airbnb.

“Obviously, I was going to be late to the track because we had to find another way of transport. But yeah, luckily they sent another Escalade, it took us to the track, and then I was like, ‘Oh, my paddock pass was in the car.’ I didn’t have a paddock pass. So anyway, I found a solution for that. FBI got involved. Full investigation.”

Bottas concluded: “He had all the opportunities for that day, get the VIP parking, walk to the paddock, sign in, go to the team. But no, the next day it was found dumped already somewhere in a dodgy area, in a high-crime area.

“So the police and FBI got involved just because of this reason what you mentioned. We had the parking pass, so somebody could have driven the car to the track. They had my pass, but they obviously weren’t interested in the F1 race.

“Apparently, they probably just did a crime with the car and dumped it. So, in my mind, it must have been like a getaway car or something, you know? Like, it’s sad that we lost the car, but it’s pretty cool.”