Valtteri Bottas’ 22-Hour Voyage in Mediterranean Sea Raises “A Lot of Funds for a Great Cause”

Instead of choosing to relax in the week off between the Italian and Azerbaijan GP, Valtteri Bottas was hard at work – at sea. He spent 22 hours on the Mediterranean, working for a great cause as the Sauber driver teamed up with three other people to raise funds for a ‘great cause’.

Bottas was working as an ambassador for the Princes Charlene of Monaco Foundation, which aims to prevent drowning by educating children through the values of swimming.

Bottas was a part of the relay race – The Crossing: Calvi-Monaco Water Bike Challenge. It took place on the 6^th and 7^th of September. The aim? To reach Calvi in as little time as possible.

Traveling a total of over 111 miles, the participants raised awareness of drowning prevention and water safety. On his X (formerly Twitter) account, Bottas posted a picture, and wrote, “We raised a lot of funds for a great cause!”

Per numbers on the foundation’s website, Team Lionheart raised over $232k. Meanwhile, Team U17 got $65k, whereas Bottas-led Team Serenity, Team Rock to Rock, and Team Ferrari collected a combined total of $17,500.

The race was on a water bike, which likely suited Bottas well because he recently developed a liking for cycling in general. In an interview, he also explained how he enjoys it because it is the complete opposite of F1. “I feel like on the start line, pretty much everyone is on more or less on the same… they have the same chances to win or do well. So for me, that’s really refreshing”. 

His partner Tiffany Cromwell is a pro-cyclist, and Bottas has spent a lot of his free time cycling in different parts of the world with her lately.

The 35-year-old took his love for the sport further and decided to team up with Cromwell for the RADL GRVL – a gravel cycling event in Australia – for 2025. Starting from its central base in Victoria Square, the event will take place on gravel roads around the Adelaide region.