Formula 1 star Mick Schumacher, newly signed as the reserve driver for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, will rejoin forces with four-time F1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel at the Race Of Champions on the snow and ice of Sweden’s Pite Havsbad on January 28-29, 2023
Schumacher will compete in the individual Race Of Champions and alongside Vettel for Team Germany in the ROC Nations Cup, battling head-to-head with motorsport greats from all over the world on ROC’s iconic parallel track at this stunning venue on the frozen Baltic Sea
This will be the first – and probably only – chance in 2023 for race fans to see Schumacher and the recently ‘retired’ Vettel in racing action
The field already includes Team Finland’s Mika Hakkinen and Valtteri Bottas, Team GB’s David Coulthard and Jamie Chadwick plus reigning champions Team Norway’s rallying father-and-son duo Petter and Oliver Solberg
Also in action are ‘Mr Le Mans’ Tom Kristensen, 2022 Formula 2 Champion Felipe Drugovich, IndyCar ace Felix Rosenqvist, World Rally star Thierry Neuville and five-time FIA World Rallycross Champion Johan Kristoffersson, who will hope to seal home glory for Team Sweden
The full ROC Sweden driver line-up will be revealed in the run-up to January’s event, and tickets are already available from Tickster
Fresh from being signed as reserve driver for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team for 2023, Mick Schumacher has been confirmed as the latest driver in the line-up for the Race Of Champions on the snow and ice of Sweden’s Pite Havsbad in January.
The news means Schumacher will battle head-to-head with motorsport greats from all over the world on ROC’s iconic parallel track at this stunning venue on the frozen Baltic Sea. And before he competes in the individual Race Of Champions on Sunday January 29, he will rejoin forces with four-time F1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel for Team Germany in the ROC Nations Cup on Saturday January 28, when drivers pair up in teams based on nationality to bid for the title of ‘World’s Fastest Nation’.
Team Germany sits at the top of the all-time ROC Nations Cup roll of honour, largely thanks to Vettel’s six straight wins from 2007 to 2012 alongside Mick’s father Michael Schumacher, the seven-time F1 World Champion. Vettel added a seventh title single-handed at Miami in 2017 and Mick himself nearly did enough to add yet more glory at his own ROC debut at Mexico City’s Foro Sol in 2019, before he and Vettel narrowly lost in the final to Team Nordic’s Tom Kristensen and Johan Kristoffersson.
Now the Nordic nations will offer even stiffer opposition at this stunning venue on the frozen Baltic Sea, just 60 miles from the Arctic Circle. To win, Schumacher and Vettel will have to see off the likes of Team Norway’s reigning champions, father-and-son World Rally stars Petter and Oliver Solberg, Team Finland’s double Formula 1 World Champion Mika Hakkinen and 10-time F1 grand prix winner Valtteri Bottas, plus five-time FIA World Rallycross Champion Johan Kristoffersson, who will hope to thrill the home crowds with a first ROC Nations Cup for Team Sweden.
The ROC Sweden field features motorsport legends from all over the world, including Team GB’s 13-time F1 grand prix winner David Coulthard and triple W Series Champion Jamie Chadwick. Then there’s ‘Mr Le Mans’ Tom Kristensen, reigning FIA Formula 2 Champion Felipe Drugovich, IndyCar racer Felix Rosenqvist and World Rally star Thierry Neuville.
This means the ROC 2023 line-up features superstars from Formula 1, Formula 2, IndyCar, Le Mans, W Series, World Rally and World Rallycross, with even more big names to be announced in the lead up to the event… where all the racing takes place in identical machinery on ROC’s iconic parallel track, and the winners are decided by driver skill alone.
Now ROC Sweden will be the first – and maybe only – chance for Mick Schumacher and the officially ‘retired’ Sebastian Vettel’s fans to see them race in 2023.
Before his switch to the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, Mick Schumacher spent the last two years racing for the Haas F1 Team, enjoying a career-best finish of sixth place at this year’s Austrian Grand Prix. He was crowned FIA Formula 2 Champion in 2020 and he secured the FIA Formula 3 European Championship in 2018, following a glittering apprenticeship dating back to 2008 in the lower formulae and karting.
ROC Sweden will be Mick’s third Race Of Champions appearance, following Mexico City in 2019 and earlier this year at Pite Havsbad. Now he will return to the snow and ice, aiming to add even more silverware to his collection.
Mick Schumacher said: “It‘s great to be back at the Race Of Champions and to see all the drivers again. Even better that Sebastian will be competing too, so that Team Germany can hopefully live up to the tradition of fighting for the title in the ROC Nations Cup. I’m really looking forward to driving on ice again, and to spending time and fighting battles with this impressive roster of drivers attending.”
Sebastian Vettel added: “I’m delighted that Mick will be joining me at the Race Of Champions again – for my first race since my retirement from Formula 1. Neither of us has much experience on snow and ice so it was a steep learning curve in Sweden earlier this year. I ended up surprising myself by getting to the individual final against Sébastien Loeb and now I can’t wait to come back and team up with Mick to see if we can take Team Germany all the way to another ROC Nations Cup title.”
With a history dating back to 1988, the Race Of Champions is a unique festival of global motorsport where stars from series including Formula 1, NASCAR, IndyCar, Le Mans, World Rally and Rallycross battle head-to-head in identical cars, with the winner decided by driver skill alone – often by fractions of a second. All the action takes place on a purpose-built parallel track featuring ROC’s iconic crossover bridge.
The Race Of Champions has been held at some of the world’s greatest venues – including Beijing’s Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium, Stade de France in Paris, Wembley Stadium, London’s Olympic Stadium, Mexico City’s Foro Sol plus a wide range of exotic locations all over the globe from Bangkok to Miami to Riyadh to Barbados. But this year in Sweden was the first time it has ever been held on snow and ice.
ROC President Fredrik Johnsson said: “We are very happy that Mick will be racing with us again at ROC Sweden. He made a stunning debut at ROC Mexico in 2019, nearly taking Team Germany all the way to yet another ROC Nations Cup title.
“His father Michael has stayed in the thoughts of everyone involved with the Race Of Champions ever since he suffered a serious head injury skiing in 2013, with a banner in Michael’s honour unfurled before every ROC event. But there can be no finer legacy than to have Michael’s son Mick competing with us.
“Now ROC Sweden will be the first – and maybe only – chance to see Mick and Sebastian race in 2023, so we will look forward to welcoming many of their fans to Sweden’s Pite Havsbad. What is sure is that Team Germany will be one of the teams to fear on the snow and ice.”
The Chairman of Pite Havsbad Group Tobias Lindfors added: “It will be fantastic to have Mick Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel back at Pite Havsbad in January! The audience has something really fantastic to look forward to with two days of exciting races where world drivers from Formula 1, IndyCar, Le Mans, World Rally and Rallycross compete against each other on our unique winter arena, says Tobias Lindfors, CEO and owner Pite Havsbad Group.”
