Bottas puts training on ice!

Photo: Tony Sargent. © MK Lightning

Photo: Tony Sargent © MK Lightning

With the new Formula 1 season approaching, drivers are finding innovative ways to step up their physical training.

For a proud Finn such as Valtteri Bottas, taking to the ice is second nature. As a youth, he played for almost a decade as forward, defenceman and even netminder before the third for four-wheel competition took over.

This week, Bottas found a way to get back to his Nordic roots by taking part in an ice hockey training session. He joined up with Elite League team Smith Recycling Milton Keynes Lightning at the Planet Ice MK Arena on Thursday as they were put through their paces in training by head coach Pete Russell.

“It was a real pleasure having Valtteri along,” said Russell. “We could see straight away he’s a natural and was very comfortable on the ice.

"We’d have been interested in signing him for the rest of the season," he added. "But apparently a team in Brackley has got first call on him!"

The Lightning played reigning Elite League champions the Cardiff Devils on Saturday. Unfortunately, it seemed Bottas' winning ways on the track hadn't rubbed off - the Lightning fell to an honourable 4-1 defeat.

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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.