FBI Investigates After Valtteri Bottas Involved in Crime on Miami Grand Prix Race Weekend
Valtteri Bottas had a rough Miami Grand Prix weekend by any measure. He took a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane, finished last of the classified runners, and, as it turns out, showed up on Saturday morning without a paddock pass because someone had stolen his car in the night. Oh, and the FBI had to get involved.
Bottas had opted to stay in Fort Lauderdale rather than Miami itself, partly to dodge the worst of the traffic that descends on the city during a Formula 1 weekend. He described the Airbnb as being “in a nice area, with a low crime rate” – and despite keeping the car keys inside the property and leaving the Cadillac Escalade locked on the driveway, he was alerted that something was wrong while getting ready for the sprint race and qualifying day. Bottas told the story on his What’s Next podcast with co-host Paul Ripke: “So got back Friday as normal, drove our car onto the driveway, had a quick dinner, early bed.
Car keys are inside the house. Car is locked. ” Then he went outside that morning: “The Escalade has vanished.
Keys are still inside, on the table. I can see them. I’m like, ‘How has our car been stolen from the driveway of our Airbnb?
'” How the Thieves Probably Did It – and Why the FBI Showed Up A method called a relay attack involves thieves using electronic devices to amplify the signal from a key fob inside a building, tricking the vehicle into thinking the owner is standing right next to it. The move to keyless entry and push-button starts has opened new vectors for exactly this kind of theft , and as manufacturers implement more sophisticated tracking systems, thieves have evolved to bypass them. Bottas himself marvelled at this on the podcast: “There must be a lot of technology involved.