Valtteri Bottas recently swapped his W10 for a Ford Fiesta, taking part in a rally test amidst rumours that he could be out of F1 come the end of this season.
With Bottas once again failing to match team-mate Lewis Hamilton out on track, trailing the Brit by 62 points in the standings, Bottas’ place at Mercedes is on the line.
The team did not take up their option on him for 2020 by the July deadline with Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff throwing fuel on the fire when he spoke of ensuring Bottas has a “soft landing” should the team decide not to keep him.
Soft landings, though, may not be what the Finn wants.
Earlier this week he took part in a “secret” – according to local newspapers – test in an unbranded M-Sport World Rally Championship-spec Ford Fiesta in Germany.
It, however, wasn’t that secret.
This isn’t the first time that Bottas has ventured into rallying with the Finn competing in the Arctic Lapland Rally, where he finished P5.
Speaking to F1.com about the event, he said: “It was the plan, to do something completely different and for fun.
“It was my first ever rally and I only had two test days before it, so for that it was really good and I really enjoyed it. I found the love for driving again.
“So, actually I still do some test days every now and then with the rally car and I’m planning also to do more in the future.
“For me, it’s just purely fun and truly enjoyable.
“With these small events and test days, there’s no politics or anything, it’s just purely driving, enjoying it, discovering how to be quicker and so on.”
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