Red Bull star drives F1 car on Premier League pitch in race against footballers
Red Bull not only owns one of the most successful Formula 1 teams on the grid, but it also has a significant stake in Leeds United which enjoyed promotion back to the Premier League this season
Formula 1 racers tend to avoid driving on grass at all costs. But a Red Bull racing machine has proven it can dominate even on a slippery green surface – after going up against a trio of Premier League footballers.
Three stars from Leeds United invited Red Bull academy driver to Elland Road for a man vs machine contest. Willy Gnonto, Largie Ramazani and Isaac Schmidt took on the RB7, which won the 2011 Formula 1 title with Sebastian Vettel, which was driven by Formula 2 starlet Arvid Lindblad.
The terms of the race were simple – they had to race from one penalty box to the other, turn around and then come back again. The car obviously has a lot more speed than the footballers, but the slippery grass and 180-degree turn made it a fair fight.
The Leeds players got off to the better start, immediately finding their footing while the Red Bull struggled for traction. But once Lindblad got the racing machine going there would be no stopping it.
The F1 car won the race at a canter, with a winning margin of around 30 yards despite the best effort of the Leeds players. They had come up with the idea for the race after attending the British Grand Prix last year, but were a man light for the challenge with pacy forward Dan James, who had hoped to take part, out injured.
Leeds winger Ramazani, who contributed six goals and two assists as the Yorkshire club won the EFL Championship title this season, said: "This was a great experience, I wish we could do this every day with Red Bull. The only thing better would be getting in the car. I love F1.
"I went to the Monaco Grand Prix last week, which was a bucket list moment for me. I used to play F1 games on the console when I was younger, so it was surreal to be next to a real car and race against it." The Belgian went on to express his belief that Wales international James would have had a better shot of beating the car.
He added: "Before the race I was scared, but I was confident too. I think we did great, but in the end the car was just too quick. I think one of the players involved in this idea was Dan James. Unfortunately, he's been injured, but I'd back my team-mate over that car any day. DJ would smoke this car!"
It was also something a little different for British racer Lindblad, racing this season in F2 and who is likely to be the next Red Bull graduate to make it to F1. The 17-year-old said: "Ahead of the race I was a bit nervous. I'd never driven on grass and had no idea how it would go.
"The car has a ton of horsepower and there is not much grip on grass, so I wasn't sure if I could go full throttle and turn the car properly. It was great fun to challenge my skills and compete against other sports people. I admire what Leeds have done this year and wish them well for next season too."
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