FBI Investigates After Valtteri Bottas Involved in Crime on Miami Grand Prix Race Weekend

Bottas himself marvelled at this on the podcast: “There must be a lot of technology involved. Like, how do you get into a car and immediately shut down the tracker, all these things? Impressive!”

The FBI was interested for a specific reason: The stolen Escalade contained Bottas’ paddock pass and VIP parking permit for the Miami International Autodrome.

Whoever took the car could, in theory, have driven straight to the circuit and walked into the Formula 1 paddock as a guest. Bottas acknowledged as much: “He had all the opportunities for that day – the VIP parking, walk to the paddock, sign in, go to the team.” Federal investigators apparently took that seriously enough to open a full investigation.

The car turned up the following day, abandoned somewhere Bottas described as a “dodgy area,” a high-crime neighborhood.

The paddock pass, it seems, was not what the driver wanted. “Apparently, they probably just did a crime with a car and dumped it. So in my mind, it must have been like a getaway car or something. It’s sad that we lost the car, but it’s pretty cool. It’s never happened to me in my life.”

To keep things stable for the rest of the weekend, the team hired a security guard to stay stationed outside the Airbnb overnight, complete with protective gear and a visible deterrent presence.

Bottas described the guard as “armed, with a full vest, kit, everything.” A replacement Escalade was found quickly, and his on-track action continued without a hitch – as long as you don’t count finishing last with a penalty in that.

It’s a genuinely strange addition to an already difficult weekend for the Cadillac team. Bottas loses his car to a probable armed robbery, the FBI opens an investigation over F1 paddock access concerns, and the thief – who had a VIP pass to one of the most exclusive sporting events on the planet – apparently just needed a ride. Some people really aren’t motorsport fans.