F1 star Valtteri Bottas ‘completes Ironman triathlon’ in his own back garden just days after being axed by Sauber

VALTTERI BOTTAS was woken up at the crack of dawn to attempt a stunning IRONMAN triathlon in his own BACK GARDEN.

The F1 star, 35, clearly hasn’t let Sauber’s decision NOT to renew his contract get to him.

Bottas might make use of his spare time next season to complete an actual Ironman.

But for now, he has three rounds of racing to see out before 20-year-old Gabriel Bortoleto nicks his seat at Sauber – soon to be Audi.

Bottas’ bizarre, but brilliant, Ironman challenge was documented on his pal’s Instagram story on Friday.

Photographer Paul Ripke was there to egg on the F1 ace as he first jumped in his pool in the early hours of the morning.

Bottas was tasked with swimming more than 200 LENGTHS of his infinity pool, to make up the 2.4 miles, or 3.8km, of an Ironman distance.

The former Mercedes driver and old team-mate of Lewis Hamilton did enjoy some sweet treats and coffee in-between lengths.

After that, he then jumped on an exercise bike to complete the 112-mile cycling component.

Which would take 10 HOURS at 10 miles per hour.

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At one point, the Finnish ace looked completely out of sorts as Ripke wiped an ice cube down his back.

His helper then opted for more moral support and began running on a treadmill beside him.

Ripke later posted: “After five hours, the end of cycling without a bib is approaching. What should he do before he runs a marathon?”

And in extraordinary scenes, Bottas then walked off the peloton and straight onto the treadmill to start his 26.2 mile run.

German Olympic triathlon champ Jan Frodeno, who won gold at Beijing in 2008, then FaceTimed to “check on Bottas”.

Bottas posted his Ironman time on his Instagram story just nine hours ago.

He burned 7,101 calories and his moving time adds up to 10 hours, 57 minutes – but we can’t be certain that was his overall time.

He then re-shared a picture of himself enjoying a glass of red wine with a pot of dinner, sitting opposite Tokyo 2020 Olympic cyclist Tiffany Cromwell.

Cardio, as a result, is a massive part of an F1 driver’s workout, including interval training.

They perform under extreme conditions, as the G-force and humidity sees them lose between 4.4lbs and 6.6lbs on average per race.