Mattias Ekström takes fourth title at Race of Champions

The Race of Champions has been a won by Mattias Ekström. The Swede defeated former F1 driver Mick Schumacher in the final. The German had eliminated compatriot Sebastian Vettel one round earlier.

For Ekström, it is the fourth title in the Race of Champions. That the Swede won from Schumacher in two heats was quite remarkable. During the second heat, his car's gearbox started smoking. However, the driver just kept going and crossed the line ahead of Schumacher anyway. With that, the best-of-3 final was decided in two heats. During the first heat, Ekström was also by far the best.

Several current and former Formula 1 drivers competed in the ROC. Valtteri Bottas had an unsuccessful day on Sunday. The Finn had to acknowledge his superiority to Tom Kristensen as early as the second lap. Bottas experienced a false start in the first heat of this encounter, which earned him a 10-second time penalty. Since until the final the times of the two heats were added together to determine the winner, it was almost immediately a hopeless mission for Bottas.

Mick Schumacher also seemed to be eliminated, during his battle with Felipe Drugovich. Initially, the Brazilian was designated as the man to go to the semi-finals, but not for the first time, timekeeping had faltered. In the last four, Schumacher took on Vettel. The four-time Formula One world champion went off the track in the first heat, which prevented him from reaching the final.