Four-time Formula One World Drivers’ Championship title winner, Sebastian Vettel, won the 2015 Race Of Champions in London on Saturday afternoon. This is Vettel’s first time being crowned the champion of champions.
Vettel won the event after beating Le Mans star, Tom Kristensen, in the Grand Final. Although Vettel has won the ROC Nations Cup multiple times alongside teammate Michael Schumacher, this was Vettel’s first time in the Grand Finals of the main event. Kristensen had more experience, having been in the Grand Finals four times.
“Of course I’m very happy and honoured to win – but that took a while! A lot of world class racing drivers have won this trophy. I’ve tried to win this many times and failed many times but finally I’ve succeeded,” said Sebastian Vettel. “What the Race Of Champions gives us is a lot of joy. When we were kids starting to race, we did it for pure joy and this sort of event is a good reminder of that. When you close the visor, ultimately victory is still what drives you. But I’ve tried to win this so many times, today was more like a surprise. We all know this format is very difficult because no one gets much time in the cars so you need to find your rhythm quickly. Today I had the feeling I found it straightaway. It was very cold but it was a great atmosphere so thank you very much to everyone for coming to watch.”
Vettel’s day began by taking victory over Petter Solberg in the opening round. He then moved on to challenge fellow Formula One driver, Nico Hülkenberg. Vettel was victorious and so was the 2014 Champion of Champions, David Coulthard. It was an intense battle, but it was Vettel who reign supreme when Coulthard jumped the start in the deciding race.
There were no hard feelings between Kristensen and Vettel. “Seb is a deserved winner – he drove brilliantly and he showed that skill in the final,” explained Tom Kristensen. “I gave my all and it was close but he’s been really on it here. Obviously I retired last year but it was great to come back and remind myself how it was to compete – and to stay on the track all the way to the final. ROC is all about fun and it was good to see so many people watching in the cold conditions. Apart from Seb, the main achievement today was by the people who have been here supporting this great event.”
On Friday, team England took home the ROC Nations Cup, as Andy Priaulx and Jason Plato took victory in the event. Sebastian Vettel and Nico Hülkenberg were the challengers for the Nations Cup, but didn’t win.
The Formula One stars will be returning to their proper jobs, as they prepare for the final race of the 2015 Formula one season at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi next weekend.
