The last time Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel shared a garage was the defining 2014 season.
Much changed that year.
The Mercedes era dawned, ending Red Bull Racing’s run of dominance.
So too did Vettel’s imperious run come to an end, and not just in the sense he couldn’t defend his fourth successive championship.
Ricciardo’s arrival as his teammate in place of the outgoing Mark Webber shook up the internal dynamics of the team.
The Aussie dispatched Vettel with surprising ease. He collected his three maiden victories along the way — the only three races not won by Mercedes that year — to finish third in the championship standings.
Ricciardo had arrived. Vettel moved on to Ferrari to try to reignite his career in red.
You probably wouldn’t have guessed at the time that nine years later they’d both be out of the sport, one for good, the other staring down the possibility of never coming back.
But for one weekend only fans can relive those faraway days as the two lead old Red Bull Racing cars around one of the world’s most famous racing circuits.
VETTEL CONFIRMS NÜRBURGRING E-FUEL RUN ALONGSIDE RICCIARDO
Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo will share a paddock as teammates for the first time since 2014 when they undertake a series of promotional runs for Red Bull Racing at the famous Nürburgring Nordschleife in September.
Four-time champion Vettel will be back in the cockpit of his 2011 title-winning car for the demonstration, but the RB7 will be powered by carbon-neutral e-fuel for the event.
It’s the third car Vettel will have driven under the power of so-called sustainable fuel. His first was the 1992 title-winning Williams FW14B at the 2022 British Grand Prix, followed by the 1993 McLaren MP4/8 at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, where the FW14B was also used a second time.
“You can express culture in many ways — music, arts — but our way of expressing ourselves is driving cars, racing cars, and it would be a shame if that was all to disappear,” Vettel said ahead of the Silverstone run last year.
“It is important to find a way that we can do it responsibly in the future as well to keep these cars and the history alive.”
Though synthetic fuel burnt in a combustion engine emits carbon dioxide, it is considered carbon neutral because the CO2 synthesised in the fuel is captured from the atmosphere.
However, e-fuels are energy intensive to create and currently not considered viable at a scale that could replace traditional fossil fuels.
Vettel will appear alongside 2014 teammate Ricciardo, who confirmed his appearance at the 9–10 September Nürburgring event earlier this year.
The Aussie will be behind the wheel of Vettel’s 2012 championship-winning RB8, which was also piloted by compatriot Mark Webber to two wins.
Vettel and Ricciardo will be the first drivers to lap the famous ‘green hell’ in a Formula 1 car since Michael Schumacher took a Mercedes around the 20.832-kilometre, 154-turn circuit in 2013.
HAMILTON HOPES TO INSPIRE LIKE SENNA WITH NEW DOCO
Lewis Hamilton hopes his upcoming biographical documentary will inspire the next generation of racing drivers to follow in his footsteps just as he was inspired by Ayrton Senna.
Apple announced last year it had secured the rights to an access-all-areas documentary about the seven-time champion, which will be produced by Box to Box films, the studio behind Drive to Survive, along with One Community, Penni Thow and Hamilton himself.
There’s been little information revealed about the project since, but at the Spanish Grand Prix Hamilton made some small revelations about his hopes for the documentary, which he said was already in production.
“It feels different,” he said. “It feels strange having a camera following you around.
“It’s about my life and my career and my journey to where I am with the hope of doing what Ayrton Senna‘s documentary did for me as a kid.”
Hamilton was referring to the 1992 documentary Racing is in My Blood, considered at the time as the Brazilian legend’s official video biography.
The Briton has spoken many times about the influence Senna had on his career as his biggest racing idol and has paid several tributes to the racing great over his career.
“Hopefully this will be able to do that for the next young kid that‘s watching, coming home from school and dreaming of something.
“Hopefully they‘ll be able to watch this and be inspired to do something great themselves.”
Hamilton is also involved in a Formula 1 fiction film starring Brad Pitt, which will undertake some filming on site at the British Grand Prix next month.
Hamilton is a producer on the film and tasked with keeping the script faithful to the sport. He’s also revealed he has an active role in the casting process.
Joseph Kosinski will direct, having most recently helmed Top Gun: Maverick, while Jerry Bruckheimer is listed as a producer on the as-yet unnamed project.
IMOLA TROPHIES RAISE MORE THAN $450,000 FOR CHARITY
Formula 1 has raised almost half a million dollars for flood relief in northern Italy after auctioning the trophies for the cancelled Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.
The race in Imola was called off in the week leading into the event after record-breaking rainfall lashed the region, swelling local rivers, flooding towns and causing devastating landslides.
Authorities say 14 people died and more than 36,000 people were displaced in the event.
Formula 1 and Ferrari each donated €1 million (A$1.59 million) to recovery efforts in the aftermath, and the sport undertook to auction the trophies for charity.
The three podium trophies as well as Pirelli’s pole position award were sold this week, bringing in £247,171 (A$458,884).
All four trophies were signed by the drivers.
The highest bid was for the winning constructor trophy, which sold for $132,385, eclipsing the $111,601 raised for the winning driver trophy.
