For many years Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher were almost guaranteed winners at the Race of Champions for the Nations Cup, with no less than six victories on the bounce, from 2007 to 2012.

For the 2019 event, fans could once again see Vettel and Schumacher in action at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, but this time with Michaels son, Mick at the wheel.

The Race of Champions (ROC) is an international motorsport event held at the end/start of each year, featuring some of the world’s best racing and rally drivers.

It is the only competition in the world where stars from Formula One, World Rally Championship, IndyCar, NASCAR, sportscars and touring cars compete against each other, going head-to-head in identical cars.

This year Mexican rally driver Benito Guerra took a surprise win at the in Mexico City, beating in the final Le Mans winner Loic Duval.

Vettel and Schumacher came second in the Nations cup, losing out to the Nordic team of Johan Kristoffersson and Tom Kristensen. But the most anticipated battle came the next day when Schumacher and Vettel competed against each other in the Speed SXS UTV RoC car. A specially built 1.1litre, 2.9 sec 0-60 racer designed specifically for the Race of Champions event.

Schumacher took the win against Vettel, earning much praise by the four time F1 Champion and 2015 singles winner Sebastian Vettel.

“I am sure that Michael Schumacher would be extremely proud of Mick” enthused Vettel.

Sebastian obviously thinking back to his debut, partnering up with Michael for the first time in 2007 to form team Germany for the Nations Cup. The catagory they came to dominate at the Race of Champions.

“It was very special for me to ride with Mick. I remember well debuting at the Race of Champions alongside Michael Schumacher, and now I’ve formed a team with Mick.

“We can be satisfied with our results. The Race of Champions is never easy, because you compete against specialists from many different series here, and all are outstanding. “

Mick was no less intense proclaiming much about his experience, writing on his Facebook page soon after the event finished saying:

“A super experience to compete with all these motorsport sizes. It has brought me a lot, and I’m happy with my performances, even if it could have gone better in the quarterfinals.”

“To form a team with Sebastian and to reach the final of the Nations Cup was fun. I fly back to Europe with a big smile.”

Schumacher versus Vettel in Mexico 2019

An interesting fact not well known is that during the race against IndyCar driver Helio Castroneves, an unusual passenger sat next to Mick in the KTM X-Bow.

“I took my sister Gina, and she brought me luck. I could win this duel. It was nice to experience that with her by my side. ” admits Schumacher.

Despite besting Vettel in the Speed SXC event for the singles title, Mick couldn’t progress much further losing out in the quarter finals to former F1 driver Esteban Gutierrez who edged Schumacher in a KTM battle.

Mick Schumacher has recently been admitted to Ferrari’s Driver Academy. Of course, speculation is already being made in Italy as to whether the young Schuamacher will one day drive alongside Vettel Formula 1 or whether he might replace him.

“Let’s give Mick time and let him go his own way. He’s already under pressure enough. But he has what it takes to become a star. ” says Vettel when questioned about Micks future with the team.

Race of Champions – the winners

1988 Montlhéry (F): Juha Kankkunen (FIN)
1989 Nürburgring (GER): Stig Blomqvist (S)
1990 Barcelona (E): Stig Blomqvist (S)
1991 Madrid (E): Juha Kankkunen (FIN)
1992 Gran Canaria (E) Andrea Aghini (I)
1993 Gran Canaria (e): Didier Auriol (F)
1994 Gran Canaria (e): Didier Auriol (F)
1995 Gran Canaria (e): François Delecour (F)
1996 Gran Canaria (e): Didier Auriol (F)
1997 Gran Canaria (E): Carlos Sainz (E)
1998 Gran Canaria (E): Colin McRae (GB)
1999 Gran Canaria (E): Didier Auriol (F)
2000 Gran Canaria (E): Tommi Mäkinen (E) FIN)
2001 Gran Canaria (E): Harri Rovanperä (FIN)
2002 Gran Canaria (E): Marcus Grönholm (FIN)
2003 Gran Canaria (E): Sébastien Loeb (F)
2004 Paris (F): Heikki Kovalainen (FIN)
2005 Paris (F): Sébastien Loeb (F)
2006 Paris (F): Mattias Ekström (S)
2007 London (GB) : Mattias Ekström (S)
2008 London GB): Sébastien Loeb (F)
2009 Beijing (CHN): Mattias Ekström (S)
2010 Düsseldorf (D): Filipe Albuquerque (P)
2011 Düsseldorf (D): Sébastien Ogier (F)
2012 Bangkok (T): Romain Grosjean (F)
2013 not performed
2014 Barbados (BDS): David Coulthard (UK)
2015 London: Sebastian Vettel (D)
2016 not performed
2017 Miami (USA): Juan Pablo Montoya (COL)
2018 Riyadh ( GB) KSA): David Coulthard (GB)
2019 Mexico City: Benito Guerra (MEX)

The Nation Cup winners

1999 Finland (Mäkinen, Lehto, Tiainen)
2000 France (Laconi, Muller, Panizzi)
2001 Spain (Puras, Xaus, Alonso)
2002 USA (Johnson, Gordon, Edwards)
2003 All Stars (Nieto, da Matta, Panizzi)
2004 France ( Alesi, Loeb)
2005 Scandinavia (Kristensen, Ekström)
2006 Finland (Kovalainen, Grönholm)
2007 Germany (Schumacher, Vettel)
2008 Germany (Schumacher, Vettel)
2009 Germany (Schumacher, Vettel)
2010 Germany (Schumacher, Vettel)
2011 Germany (Schumacher , Vettel)
2012 Germany (Schumacher, Vettel)
2014 Team Nordic (Kristensen, Solberg)
2015 England 1 (Priaulx, Plato)
2017 Germany (Vettel, Wehrlein*)
2018 Germany (Rast, Bernhard)
2019 Team Nordic (Kristensen, Kristoffersson)

*could not start after accident