Vettel, Bottas, Schumacher, Häkkinen, and Coulthard will face each other this weekend at the ROC
The Race Of Champions is a recurring event every year, excluding the Covid period, and for the second consecutive season, it is taking place in the Nordic countries. It's an opportunity for several F1 drivers to come together on a less grippy terrain than they're used to.
Sebastian Vettel, now retired from Formula 1, will be in Sweden this weekend with some of his former colleagues from the paddock. Mick Schumacher will also be part of the trip as he will be driving for the same team as Vettel for the second consecutive year. Valtteri Bottas will also be joining them, but it will be his first time with the Alfa Romeo team.
« It’s so difficult here with this terrain but we are very motivated to win, explained Vettel.
« I had a good break. But now, we can’t really say that I’m on a break anymore. I was able to enjoy the time. We have already driven from Switzerland to here, so it’s nice to have seen all these landscapes. We made many beautiful stops along the way, and last year we said that it was so beautiful here that we had to come on a road trip. »
Mick Schumacher, for his part, has confirmed the ambition of the German team to win the ultimate victory. He believes he will indeed be more efficient this year compared to last year.
Valtteri Bottas is part of the Finnish team. He is associated with Mika Hakkinen. « I don’t often drive on ice, but I have already participated in the Arctic Rally in Finland twice. With Mika, a legend of his caliber, I think we have a chance. »
The French team is composed of Sebastien Loeb and Patrick Tambay’s son, currently competing in the touring championship, Adrien Tambay. Last year, it was Loeb who won the 2022 ROC individually. The team/nation winners were Peter Solberg and his son, Oliver, for Norway.
Also worth noting is the presence of David Coulthard (former F1 driver) who will team up with Jamie Chadwick, winner of the 2022, 2021, and 2020 W Series women’s championship.
This Friday, Norway qualified for the quarter-finals along with France, Sweden, the “Nordic” team, the USA, and the All Stars team.
The team tournament (Saturday)
Équipe FINLANDE (Mika Hakkinen & Valtteri Bottas) contre Équipe eROC (Lucas Blakeley & Jarno Opmeer)
Équipe GB (David Coulthard & Jamie Chadwick) contre Équipe ALLEMAGNE (Sebastian Vettel & Mick Schumacher)
Quarterfinals
Team NORWAY (Petter Solberg & Oliver Solberg) vs Team FRANCE (Sébastien Loeb & Adrien Tambay)
Équipe SUÈDE (Johan Kristoffersson & Mattias Ekström) contre Équipe NORDIQUE (Tom Kristensen & Felix Rosenqvist)
Équipe USA (Travis Pastrana et Tanner Foust) contre Équipe ALL STARS (Felipe Drugovich et Thierry Neuville)
Équipe FINLAND ou équipe eROC contre équipe GB ou équipe GERMANY.
Individually, 2 rounds – Sunday
Adrien TAMBAY vs David COULTHARD
Felix ROSENQVIST v Mick SCHUMACHER
Mika HAKKINEN vs Felipe DRUGOVICH
TAMBAY or COULTHARD vs ROSENQVIST or SCHUMACHER
Valtteri BOTTAS vs Tom KRISTENSEN.
Sebastian VETTEL versus Jamie CHADWICK
Sébastien LOEB vs Thierry NEUVILLE
Petter SOLBERG vs Oliver SOLBERG
Johan KRISTOFFERSSON vs Tanner FOUST
Travis PASTRANA versus Mattias EKSTRÖM
