Racing legend Sebastian Vettel is about to return to the F1 circuit along with fellow Red Bull great Daniel Ricciardo to drive demonstration laps at Germany’s iconic Nordschleife circuit.
Vettel, a four-time world champion, retired at the end of last season after a storied 15-year career on the grid, and will now be reunited with the famed Red Bull RB7 he nicknamed ‘Kinky Kylie’ when he takes to the track . September 9th.
Vettel and his former team-mate will drive practice laps for Red Bull in their former cars, which will run on carbon-neutral e-fuel; a matter that is very important to the German, who is a staunch supporter of sustainability and protection of the environment.
‘The myth of the Nordschleife resonated, even though we were ‘only’ driving on the GP circuit at the time. In any case, it will be a lot of fun to drive my RB7 – powered by e-fuel – on the Nordschleife as part of a show run,” Vettel said when his exhibition laps on the circuit known as the “Green Hell” were announced .
“Motorsport is my passion. I think it’s important to show that racing cars can run just as well and fast on synthetic CO2-neutral fuel. And that’s already today!’
Ex-Red Bull teammates Sebastian Vettel (left) and Daniel Ricciardo (right) will reunite to drive demonstration laps in F1 cars at Germany’s famous Nordschleife circuit
Vettel, a staunch advocate for sustainability and the environment, is delighted to be taking the exhibition drive in a car that runs on carbon neutral fuel
Vettel (left) showers his then-teammate Ricciardo (right) in champagne after the Australian won the 2014 Canadian Grand Prix
Ricciardo, pictured at New York’s annual Met Gala earlier this year, will also drive for Red Bull at the famed circuit on September 9
Ricciardo, who is currently taking a gap year of sorts as a test driver for Red Bull, confirmed last month that he would also do a practice lap at the famed circuit, which is part of the wider Nürburgring circuit.
“I just got my invitation to the Nuerburgring, which is pretty cool. I’m going to drive a Red Bull car around the famous track, so I’m really excited about that,” he said in a post on the team’s social media.
The practice laps are part of a huge race weekend for Red Bull, which also includes the 12 Hours of the Nürburgring.
It has been ten years since a modern F1 car raced on the infamous Nordschleife circuit, which hosted Grand Prix between 1951 and 1976.
The end of F1 there came after racing legend Niki Lauda’s horrific and fiery crash on the track, which he barely survived.
Vettel retired in 2022 after a 15-year F1 career that saw him become Red Bull’s most successful driver of all time
Germany’s famous Nordschleife circuit is now used as a proving ground for the latest supercars, such as the Mercedes-AMG Project ONE (pictured on the track)
The great Michael Schumacher was the last to drive a modern car there in 2013, just months before his skiing accident, six years after Nick Heidfeld became the first driver to lap an F1 car on the circuit since Lauda’s infamous crash.
It is one of the most famous circuits in the world and one of the toughest tests of any driver’s competence, with blind crests and stunning tight corners. There is an elevation gain of 300 meters per lap as it winds through the beautiful German countryside.
The RB7 Vettel that will drive in the practice rounds is a car that the German will have fond memories of.
In it he won the 2011 World Championship after a season in which he won 11 Grand Prix and secured 18 of 19 poles.
Famous for giving his cars female names each season, Vettel named the RB7 he will drive in Germany on September 9 ‘Kinky Kylie’.
Vettel, pictured at the 2011 Monaco Grand Prix, racing the RB7 he dubbed ‘Kinky Kylie’, which many speculated was named after Kylie Minogue
Since he named it hours after winning the Australian Grand Prix to open the season, there was much media speculation that he named it after Kylie Minogue; though he has yet to confirm that fact.
But he was clearly a big fan of the car.
“It’s got a tight ass, it’s smooth and good looking,” he said in 2011, after telling reporters what he called his RB7.
Ricciardo will drive the RB8 Vettel nicknamed ‘Abbey’ – a stark departure from the evocative names he’d used for cars earlier in his career, such as Luscious Liz, Kate’s Dirty Sister, Hungry Heidi (named after German supermodel Heidi Klum ) and Randy Mandy .