Sebastian Vettel was reunited together with his 2011 title-winning Crimson Bull RB7 this weekend forward of the annual 12 hour endurance race on the Nurburgring.

The four-time Formulation 1 world champion took to the total 15.770-mile mixed Nordschleife and GP monitor as a part of Crimson Bull’s “Formulation Nurburgring” occasion alongside a number of different high-profile drivers, riders, and automobiles, together with David Coulthard in a 2012 Crimson Bull RB8 which was initially set to be pushed by Daniel Ricciardo till the Australian was dominated out by harm.

Vettel drove RB7-01 on the run, one in every of 5 vehicles constructed by Crimson Bull for the 2011 season – and one in every of 4 presently in service as a operating present automobile for Crimson Bull promotional occasions. Chassis 01 was pushed by Mark Webber at that 12 months’s Monaco Grand Prix, however was not campaigned by Vettel himself, who drove chassis 03 for the primary 12 races of the season earlier than transferring to 05.

“The sound is nice… Thankfully I nonetheless match within the seat,” Vettel mentioned in an Instagram Reside video broadcast after he’d examined the automobile on Friday forward of the occasion. “The texture for the automobile got here again immediately and it was unbelievable.

“Clearly the vehicles are a bit smaller than they’re now, however they’re additionally rather a lot lighter and extra agile. A whole lot of good reminiscences … It’s the unique seat; it nonetheless suits. I’m very pleased with that. I haven’t received fats but! It was quite a lot of enjoyable.”

The automobile was being run on artificial, carbon-neutral gasoline beforehand showcased by Vettel on the 2022 British Grand Prix with a 1992 Williams FW14B that he owns, and on the Goodwood Competition of Velocity this 12 months with the Williams and a 1993 McLaren MP4/8 additionally from Vettel’s personal assortment.

“I really feel like I’m in a time capsule. A number of reminiscences got here again,” mentioned Vettel. “Every part suits collectively right here at present – together with the truth that we now use artificial, i.e. CO2-neutral gasoline.

“Motorsport is my nice ardour and I wish to protect the game. Fuels may be produced synthetically and function a substitute. This will not be the one resolution, however it’s a part of the answer. It is crucial that all of us understand that now we have to do one thing, and the most effective factor is: you don’t really feel any distinction within the automobile; it’s simply as a lot enjoyable.”

It was Vettel’s first time driving an RB7 since November 2014 when he drove the automobile in an illustration in Dubai, whereas his and Coulthard’s laps on the Nurburgring marked the primary time in a decade that trendy Formulation 1 equipment has taken to the Nordschleife, which was final used for a Grand Prix in 1976.

Michael Schumacher made his closing public look driving an F1 automobile in 2013 when he took a 2011 W02 out forward of that 12 months’s 24h Nurburgring. In 2007, Nick Heidfeld drove a BMW Sauber F1.06 on the monitor as effectively.

Additionally in attendance at Formulation Nurburgring was Gerhard Berger driving a 1995 Ferrari 412 T2; Ralf Schumacher within the Williams-BMW FW25 that he received the 2003 European grand prix on the Nurburgring in, in addition to the following French GP; Mattias Lauda in a Ferrari 312 B3-74 raced by his father Niki in 1974; former Minardi F1 driver Patrick Friesacher in an ex-NASCAR Cup collection Toyota Camry and present AlphaTauri driver Yuki Tsunoda in a Honda NSX GT3.