Every year, the Race of Champions brings together teams composed of two drivers from the same nationality or individuals, competing on identical machines. The ROC traditionally takes place in a stadium, featuring three or four different vehicle categories, from rally cars to buggies.
This year, Valtteri Bottas will be joining the team, and he will be accompanied by Mika Häkkinen, a former Formula 1 driver and a two-time World Champion in 1998 and 1999 with McLaren.
For the second year in a row, the event will take place on the frozen lakes of Sweden, moving away from stadiums since the emergence of Covid-19.
(I) I am eager to finally start in this race. I have been following it on TV for several years now, and I almost participated last year, but I ended up having to cancel at the last minute, explained Bottas.
« I am very excited to join them at Pite Havsbad in January. Teaming up with Mika should be great. We have become friends over the years, so it will definitely be special to ride by his side. Both of us have participated in the Arctic Rally, so hopefully that will help us defeat our competitors. Then, I will have to set my friendship aside and defeat him individually. This promises to be a great show for the spectators. »
Other Formula 1 drivers participate in this event every year. Sebastian Vettel participated last year, notably for the 10th time. He has been crowned once as an individual and 7 times with the German team. The F1 driver with the most participation is David Coulthard with 13 ROCs. Michael Schumacher, Jenson Button, Romain Grosjean, Mick Schumacher, and Lando Norris have also competed in at least one ROC.
It is Sebastien Loeb who had won the cup last year in Sweden ahead of Vettel. Rally drivers are the most convincing on vehicles closer to rallying than F1.
Jamie Chadwick has also confirmed her participation with the English team, just like Vettel for the German team.
