Drivers gear up for this year’s Race of Champions in London. The draw to determine the grid has been completed and there are a couple of Formula One duos that will be facing off together this upcoming weekend at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
The Race of Champions, better known as ROC, is an annual event held internationally that features some of the world’s best racing drivers. Drivers battle head-to-head in a playoff style grid, advancing to each round of the playoff and eventually reaching the end, where they are crowned the title as Champion of Champions. To make this event all about driver performance, competitors are provided with identical cars.
Former Formula One driver, David Coulthard, was the 2014 Champion of Champions at Bushy Park in Barbados. Current Mercedes test driver, Pascal Wehrlein, was runner up for the event. Coulthard has returned to defend his title, facing off against Susie Wolff in the quarter finals. Wehrlein will also be at the event, battling with former World Touring Car Championship driver, Andy Priaulx, for a spot in the quarter finals.
The grid was set, via a random draw on Tuesday. The draw was conducted by Britsh songwriter, Ella Eyre, and British Touring Car Championship driver, Jason Plato. The twenty registered drivers were randomly sorted into pairs for the head-to-head battles, creating some interesting and potentially entertaining couplings.
Four of the current Formula One drivers attending the event this weekend will be battling with each other in the quarter finals. Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo will be wheel to wheel with Nico Hülkenberg of Force India, while McLaren’s Jenson Button will be neck and neck with Felipe Massa from Williams. Four time World Drivers’ Champion, Sebastian Vettel will be participating in the action, starting his journey through the playoffs against FIA World Rallycross champion, Petter Solberg. Romain Grosjean will also be in the quarter finals, facing off against Jason Plato.
Among the current Formula One stars, there will also be some other names that can be and are currently heard in the Formula One paddock. Nelson Piquet Jr, Pascal Wehrlein, Jolyon Palmer, David Coulthard and Susie Wolff are also in attendance. It will be a particularly special weekend for Wolff, as she has announced her retirement from motor racing, meaning that this will be her final ROC appearance.
This year’s action starts at 8:00pm local time Friday evening, with the Race of Champions Nations Cup where drivers will represent their countries and attempt to win the Nations Cup for their homeland. The main event at 3:00pm local time the following day. This year, the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, home of the 2012 Summer Olympics, will play host to the event and is expected to provide a great turn out.
Here is the Race of Champions grid that was selected by a random draw:
