Bottas hits the beach - F1 style

40

Just because the new Formula 1 season has started, it doesn't mean that the drivers can slack off when it comes to their punishing training regimens.

But there are some definite upsides to being a F1 start, and one of them is getting to choose where in the world they get to pound out the miles.

Here's Valtteri Bottas hard at work in paradise this weekend following his third-place finish on his Mercedes début in Australia. Next week he'll be in Shanghai to see if he can go one or maybe even two places better.

Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel had better watch out. We reckon that they'll also be hard at it somewhere in the world, likewise busy preparing themselves for the Chinese Grand Prix on April 9.

GALLERY: F1 drivers' wives and girlfriends

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.