The Finnish driver reported the disappearance of the luxury vehicle that the team had provided him with. It happened at an Airbnb in Fort Lauderdale and inside the car were his paddock pass and his VIP parking card.
The Miami Grand Prix weekend was not only complicated on track for Valtteri Bottas, the Finnish Cadillac driver lived through an episode worthy of a movie when his team provided Cadillac Escalade was stolen. The luxury vehicle disappeared during the early hours of Saturday, hours before Bottas had to head to the Hard Rock Stadium.
The driver was staying at an Airbnb in Fort Lauderdale, a quieter area than Miami Beach, as he recounted on a podcast, he returned on Friday night, parked the vehicle, left the keys inside the house and everything seemed to be in order, however, when he woke up the next day, the car was no longer there: "The keys were still inside on the table, I could see them and I was like: 'What? How?'" said Bottas.
The moment he found out about the theft was surreal, Bottas was in the shower when his roommate, Paul Harris, called him wondering where he had gone with the car, when he went out and confirmed that the Escalade had disappeared, the driver could not believe it. The theft had occurred at the entrance of the Airbnb, in broad early morning.
The most serious thing about the case was not only the loss of the vehicle, the worst part was that inside the stolen Cadillac were Bottas's paddock pass and his VIP parking card. Without them, the driver could not access the circuit or the areas reserved for the team, Cadillac had to quickly arrange a replacement car and an urgent solution for Bottas to enter the Hard Rock Stadium.
Fortunately, the FBI became involved in the investigation immediately, and the vehicle was located the next day, abandoned in a high-crime area of the city. Still, the driver's personal passes had disappeared. The authorities do not rule out the possibility that the theft was linked to an organized network operating at high-profile events such as the Miami Grand Prix.
Bottas, despite the scare and the setback, managed to get to the circuit on time and compete normally, the Finn was relieved that nothing more serious had happened, although he admitted that the situation was "strange and worrying." The Cadillac team, where Sergio Pérez also competes, reinforced security measures for the rest of the weekend.
The incident highlights the risks drivers face when staying outside official hotels during the Grand Prix, especially in cities like Miami, where luxury vehicle theft rates are high. Bottas, with his characteristic sense of humor, is already focused on the upcoming races of the season.