Sebastian Vettel will kick off his retirement from F1 by taking part once again in next January's Race of Champions event where the German will be joined by – among others – fellow multiple F1 world champion Mika Hakkinen.
Like last winter, the RoC will take place in Pite Havsbad, Sweden on a dedicated ice and snow circuit located just 100 kilometers form the Arctic Circle. The event scheduled on January 28/29, 2023.
While Vettel and Hakkinen are the first confirmed participants, other competitors should include W Series champion Jamie Chadwick, and rally and rallycross stars Petter and Oliver Solberg and Johan Kristofferson.
"I can’t think of a better place for my first race after I retire from Formula 1 than the Race of Champions," said Vettel, a long-time participant in the event and a former winner.
"This will be my 11th appearance, and I keep coming back because it’s a special event, and so much fun.
"I don’t have much experience of racing on snow and ice, so it made for a steep learning curve in Sweden earlier this year – and a very pleasant surprise to reach the individual final against Sebastien Loeb.
"Now I can’t wait to come back and give ROC-style ice racing another try and hopefully help Team Germany win another ROC Nations Cup title."
There's no #ROCSweden without amazing drivers!
Here are our first names for 28-29 January 2023 🤩🤩🤩
Sebastian Vettel 🇩🇪@F1MikaHakkinen 🇫🇮@Petter_Solberg 🇳🇴@OliverSolberg01 🇳🇴/🇸🇪@JohanKMS88 🇸🇪@JamieChadwick 🇬🇧#F1 @WSeriesRacing @OfficialWRC @FIAWorldRX pic.twitter.com/5OhuL4mEWb
— Race Of Champions (@RaceOfChampions) September 14, 2022
As for Hakkinen, the former McLaren driver experienced the RoC for the first time this year and 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 organisation does a great job.
"I’ve done the Arctic Rally a few times, so I have at least driven on ice before. Here’s hoping that can help me out this time…"
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