Sebastian Vettel made headlines in the last year’s edition of the Race of Champions when he lost against sim racer Lucas Blakeley. The latter also appeared in this year’s edition and was set to face Vettel again in the quarter-final round.
He gained massive hype against Vettel this year. In the previous round, he eliminated Finlad’s star lineup of Valtteri Bottas, the only representation from F1’s starting grid this year, and former world champion Mika Hakkinen.
With Vettel being his victim last year, he had much more to lose. On the other hand, beating Vettel consecutively would have been the biggest career win Blakeley could have ever asked for.
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Sebastian Vettel gets the revenge
However, the German race driver showed his class and defeated Blakeley in the event’s quarter-finals. The two had an intense start, with Blakeley even getting a formidable lead.
But his nerves got the better, and he crashed his car on the snow barrier, halting him for a while. In the meantime, Vettel slashed all the deficit and got the lead.
Vettel got a comprehensive lead of seven seconds in the first lap, and in the final lap, the four-time world champion easily maintained his lead. Blakeley tried his best to catch his opponent, but not enough time was left for him to outrun the recently retired F1 driver.
A huge moment for sim racer @LucasBlakeley01! And Sebastian Vettel has his revenge for last year.#ROCSweden pic.twitter.com/TQPDVyO0gp
— #ROCSweden (@RaceOfChampions) January 28, 2023
F1 legend loses out in the semi-final
Vettel’s only remaining highlight from the event was his triumph over Blakeley. The 35-year-old in the semi-final got defeated by the All-star lineup of Thierry Neuville and Felipe Drugovich.
It would have been great if he could have won the event, as he had the most backing from fans ahead of the event. Nevertheless, Team Norway’s father-son Petter and Oliver Solberg duo won the title. Last year also, the pair won the title and retained the cup.
On the first day, the race of nations was concluded. But on Sunday, the race of champions will happen, where drivers will compete individually. It remains to be seen whether Vettel will manage to make a mark in the first racing event since his F1 retirement.
Sebastian Loeb is the current champion of the individual event. Tomorrow’s lineup has some great names, including Hakkinen, Bottas and David Coulthard. But Vettel is genuinely the biggest highlight.
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