Sebastian Vettel won the Race of Champions in 2016, but was unable to defend his title this year, in the competition that took place this weekend at Marlins Park in Miami.
The Scuderia Ferrari driver was part of Group A, but his attempt of defending the Race of Champions crown unfortunately ended very early as Sebastian did not manage to make it out of Group A. Vettel was up against two Indianapolis 500 winners in his first round: after being beaten by the Brazilian Helio Castroneves, he outpaced Alexander Michael Rossi, who currently races in the IndyCar Series for Bryan Herta Autosport with Andretti Autosport.
That left Vettel needing to defeat Travis Alan Pastrana in a decisive drag race to the line, which the four-time Formula One Champion did not win, and therefore had to leave the competition in the early stages. Sebastian Vettel had won the Race Of Champions trophy for the first time in 2016, when the Ferrari F1 driver put in a stunning performance to eclipse 19 fellow stars of motor sport and eventually take home the trophy for the first time on a thrilling afternoon of action at London’s former Olympic Stadium.
In the end Vettel, a six-time RoC Nations Cup winner, saw off nine-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner Tom Kristensen to become Champion of Champions in 2016, as the former Danish professional racing driver, who holds the record for the most wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, again lost in the final, this time to former Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya, who emerged victorious on his Race of Champions debut.
Other notable names in action included Jenson Button, David Coulthard, Scott Speed, as well as Kurt and Kyle Busch, Kristensen, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Tony Kanaan, James Hinchcliffe, Gabby Chaves and Petter Solberg.
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