Mick Schumacher defeated his mentor and good friend Sebastian Vettel to achieve the closing in the particular person classification of the Race of Champions. In the finish, Matthias Ekström was forward.
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In the finish, it was a transparent determination: Matthias Ekström beat all his opponents in his fourth particular person Race of Champions, successful 2-0 on the frozen Baltic Sea in Piet Havsbad, Sweden. His opponent in the closing: Mick Schumacher.
Competing for the third time in the Championship, the German defeated Felix Rosenqvist, Adrien Tambay, Felipe Drugovic and his compatriot, good friend and mentor Sebastian Vettel on his strategy to the prime.
Ekström defined after his victory: “The Race of Champions has at all times meant lots to me. To win 4 could be very particular and to do it in Sweden is much more particular. I received the first closing at the Stade de France in Paris in opposition to Sebastien Loeb, then I had two finals with Michael Schumacher in London and Beijing, so it was very emotional for me to see Mick in the closing as we speak.”
“It’s extra particular than successful; Michael has at all times been certainly one of the most admired guys in the sport for his dedication, exhausting work and expertise. I solely met Michael at the Race of Champions. “We fought lots and I have solely nice reminiscences of what occurred with Michael,” added the Swede.
“Michael has at all times been very humble to me and I can see that Mick can also be very humble. Mick is a big expertise and his time will come, so I sit up for many fights in the future. “It will not be lengthy earlier than I get crushed, however second place in opposition to Mick would not be tough,” mentioned the 44-year-old.
Schumacher thanked him for his variety phrases, including: “Congratulations Matthias and thanks for these variety phrases. He is an distinctive driver and this success proves it as soon as once more. He did an important job over the weekend. I did my finest there, however it wasn’t sufficient.”
“What we do on the observe is totally totally different to what Matthias did and I agree with what Seb mentioned on Friday: we come to the nook with a screwdriver and a hammer, and so they have a full device package,” continued Schumacher. “The information they create with them to really feel the automotive and know what to do at any given second is one thing I haven’t got but. So it is about spending many hours – even on unpaved roads – studying and making an attempt to enhance. Then hopefully I can problem him subsequent yr.”
The 23-year-old Mercedes check driver additionally spoke about the battle with Vettel. “I particularly favored it. I received it on tarmac in Mexico in 2019 and it was enjoyable to do it once more as we speak. It’s at all times good to speak to Seb at this occasion and listen to how he feels about driving. We’ve at all times been very open about the data we accumulate, and I’ve additionally visited Matthias a number of occasions as we speak and yesterday to get just a few ideas from his toolbox. It wasn’t sufficient, however it was an important weekend. Thanks to everybody who participated in the Race of Champions.