Sebastian Vettel and Mick Schumacher partner up once more for 2023 ROC
Mick Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel high fives in the Champions for Charity football match. Germany, August 2022.
The tandem of Sebastian Vettel and Mick Schumacher will reunite to tackle the 2023 Race of Champions in Sweden.
For very different reasons neither driver will be part of the Formula 1 grid for 2023, Sebastian Vettel having called time on an illustrious career which yielded four World Championships, while Schumacher has signed up as Mercedes’ third driver after being let go by Haas.
But the pair will be in racing action at the 2023 edition of the Race of Champions, once more held on the snow and ice of Sweden’s Pite Havsbad on January 28-29.
This will be the third time that Vettel and Schumacher have contested the event as the representatives of Team Germany, while in the 2022 staging, Vettel finished as runner-up to rally legend Sébastien Loeb in the Drivers’ class.
They will look to build on the past success of the Vettel-Schumacher combination in this event, Vettel and Mick’s father迈克尔-舒马赫having won the Nations’ Cup six times previously.
“I’m delighted that Mick will be joining me at the Race Of Champions again – for my first race since my retirement from Formula 1,” said Vettel.
“Neither of us has much experience on snow and ice so it was a steep learning curve in Sweden earlier this year. I ended up surprising myself by getting to the individual final against Sébastien Loeb and now I can’t wait to come back and team up with Mick to see if we can take Team Germany all the way to another ROC Nations Cup title.”
Schumacher said: “It‘s great to be back at the Race Of Champions and to see all the drivers again. Even better that Sebastian will be competing too, so that Team Germany can hopefully live up to the tradition of fighting for the title in the ROC Nations Cup.
“I’m really looking forward to driving on ice again, and to spending time and fighting battles with this impressive roster of drivers attending.”
Norway’s father-son Rally duo Petter and Oliver Solberg return for the 2023 staging in a bid to defend their Nations’ Cup title, while Alfa Romeo star and 10-time grand prix winner Valtteri Bottas will be in action for Team Finland alongside two-time F1 World Champion Mika Hakkinen.
Ex-Red Bull F1 driver David Coulthard will represent Team UK alongside Williams development driver Jamie Chadwick, while Aston Martin reserve driver and reigning Formula 2 champ Felipe Drugovich will be part of the Team Latin America line-up.
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