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Sebastian Vettel has won the hearts of the F1 world yet again by impressing the world at the 2023 Race of Champions.
Vettel paired up with Mick Schumacher, representing Team Germany, but was unable to make it to the RoC finals.
The four-time Formula 1 world champion was awarded a five-second time penalty for moving off the line too quickly against current Aston Martin reserve driver Felipe Drugovich.
Vettel's penalty meant that his teammate Mick Schumacher would have to beat Thierry Neuville to give his team a chance into the finals. However, Schumacher was unable to beat the Team All-Stars driver, resulting in Team Germany's elimination from the event.
Sebastian Vettel managed to outclass 2022 F1 eSports champion Lucas Blakeley after the latter made a costly mistake during the race. Blakeley, however, got the best of the former Red Bull driver in 2022 when he managed to beat the four-time world champion in the same event.
Mick Schumacher was also able to beat two-time F1 eSports champion Jarno Opmeer, who crashed and collided with a wall during their race in Sweden.
Earlier, the Vettel and Schumacher duo managed to knock out David Coulthard's Team GB, starting off the event with a blast. It will be interesting to see whether the duo finds success in future editions of the RoC.
Fans react to Sebastian Vettel's stint at the 2023 RoC
Sebastian Vettel retired from Formula 1 at the end of the 2022 F1 season after more than 15 successful years in the sport. The four-time world champion is sorely missed by fans around the world who welcomed him dearly at the 2023 RoC.
However, much to the dismay of fans around the world, the former Ferrari driver was unable to take his team to the finals of the event in Sweden.
One fan wrote on Twitter:
"Everyone is a Sebastian vettel Fan, even they say they are no Fan, they are a vettel Fan."
Another fan agreed with the sentiment above and went one step further, claiming that even if some people say that Lewis Hamilton is the greatest driver in the sport, they are undoubtedly fans of Sebastian Vettel.
They wrote:
"everybody is a Vettel fan, even if they're not, they are Vetell fans, even if they go to the Lewis Hamilton guy, even if they say "oh yeah Lewis Hamilton is the greatest driver in the world" they are Vettel fans."
Another fan claimed that it is hard to enjoy F1 without Vettel, showing their love for the four-time world champion. They wrote:
"How to enjoy Formula 1 without this man"
Sebastian Vettel gave fans a parting gift at the 2023 RoC and will forever go down as one of the greatest drivers in the sport. It will be interesting to see whether the world champion ever returns to F1 in any capacity.
