Sebastian Vettel met fellow F1 legends Lewis Hamilton and Nigel Mansell ahead of driving the latter’s Williams FW14B in Silverstone.
Vettel will be taking part in the British GP on 3rd July, which is his birthday. In addition to driving his Aston Martin in the race, he also got an opportunity to drive an iconic car around the iconic circuit.
Mansell is a former World Champion, who won the 1992 Title while driving for Williams. Four-time World Champion Vettel, got an opportunity to drive Mansell’s Title winning FW14B ahead of the race on Sunday.
The Silverstone crowd just spontaneously burst out into a rendition of “Happy Birthday” to Seb. Love it. #F1 #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/N1FdDVtz39
— Chris Medland (@ChrisMedlandF1) July 3, 2022
Vettel believed that it was important to run these cars, to keep the history alive in Formula 1. He took it out for a spin around Silverstone, and drove it using carbon neutral fuel.
Before the outing, Mansell himself along with seven-time World Champion and compatriot Lewis Hamilton, paid the German driver a visit.
Lewis Hamilton has his arm raised by Nigel Mansell in front of the Silverstone crowd
Vettel got to drive the iconic Williams FW14B on his birthday. Fans were pleased to see three former Champions gather together ahead of the British GP.
After Hamilton shook Vettel’s hands, Mansell took it upon himself to have the hometown hero get some attention of his own. He grabbed Hamilton’s arm, and raised in front of the crowd in Silverstone. As expected, loud cheers followed as soon as the arms were raised.
Lewis, Seb and Nige! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/dC5nJ7gj6T
— Ky (@FiftyBucksVT) July 3, 2022
Hamilton will start Sunday’s race from P5. Chances of him winning look bleak, particularly because of the fact that Red Bull and Ferrari have much better cars. The last time he started a race from the third row in Silverstone, he won it.
The Mercedes driver starts the race on the third row alongside McLaren driver and fellow Brit Lando Norris. If things go his way, Hamilton will be looking forward to standing on the podium in front of his home crowd yet again.
Birthday boy Vettel meanwhile, didn’t really have a memorable Saturday during Qualifying. He will start the race from the second last row in eighteenth, ahead of Haas’ Mick Schumacher and Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll.