Sebastian Vettel has announced his first racing appearance alongside Mika Hakkinen and Jamie Chadwick following his retirement.
The German driver announced at the end of July that he would retire from Formula 1 at the end of the 2022 season. Bringing an end to a career that has won 4 world championships and 53 victories since 2007.
He did not give any details regarding his future plans, although he did say that he is still open to the possibility of racing in other categories. But Vettel has now confirmed that the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix won’t be his last taste of racing.
The four-time world champion is now set to take part in the 2023 Race of Champions joined by fellow world champion Mika Hakkinen.
ROC is a global motorsport festival where stars from series including F1, NASCAR, IndyCar, Le Mans, World Rally, and Rally X compete head-to-head in identical cars.
In addition to Vettel and Hakkinen, who are the first confirmed participants, other competitors also include two-time W Series champion, Jamie Chadwick. Along with rally and rallycross stars Petter and Oliver Solberg, and Johan Kristofferson.
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Sebastian Vettel “can’t wait to get back” to racing after retirement
Vettel has been a regular at the ROC and has partnered with seven-time champion Michael Schumacher to a number of successes for team Germany in the Nations Cup.
He has won the Nations Cup seven times and was also the 2022 runner-up in the individual event.
“I can’t imagine a better place for my first race after retiring from Formula 1 than the Race Of Champions,” said the Aston Martin driver.
“This will be my 11th participation and I always come back because it is such a special and fun event. I don’t have much racing experience on snow and ice, so it was a steep learning curve in Sweden earlier this year – and a very pleasant surprise to reach the individual final against Sébastien Loeb.”
“Now I can’t wait to get back and try ice racing again and hopefully help Team Germany win another Nations Cup title at this ROC. “
Meanwhile, the former McLaren driver who participated in the ROC for the first time this year is looking forward to competing once again in the event.
“I made my first appearance at the Race of Champions earlier this year and I’m delighted to be coming back again,” said the two-time F1 world champion.”
“This event has a great atmosphere, it’s fantastic to meet up with so many great drivers and everyone in the organization does a great job.”
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