Race of Champions Winner Pays Emotional Tribute To Michael Schumacher As Son Mick Finishes Second

Swedish driver Mattias Ekstrom reflects on competing with Michael Schumacher.

Mercedes F1 reserve driver Mick Schumacher competed in the Race of Champions over the weekend and narrowly missed out on the "Champion of Champions" crown. Winner, Mattias Ekstrom took his fourth championship win and paid tribute to Mick's father, Michael Schumacher, after taking the title.

Ekstrom dominated on the snow and ice of Pite Havsbad in his home country, Sweden, by knocking 3.5 tenths of a second of Schumacher's time, despite a fire in his car. 

Speaking about his win, the Swedish driver reflected on the two times he had competed against Michael Schumacher and won in 2007 and 2009. He explained that it "was very emotional" to race against his son. Ekstrom said:

"I had two finals against Michael when I was here, and it was very emotional to race against Mick.

"I know Michael so well, we had so many great battles. I had so many special moments with Michael and I am sure [Mick's] time is ahead of him."

Mick also spoke about the competition and branded Ekstrom "an exceptional driver". Schumacher managed to beat Sebastian Vettel, who has also driven with Michael in this event, in the semi-final to make his way closer to the "Champion of Champions" title before just missing out. Schumacher explained:

"Congratulations to Mattias, he is an exceptional driver. I'm super proud of him and thankful for the kind words."

Schumacher did not manage to get his F1 contract extended with Haas and so was left hoping to secure another permanent seat for the upcoming 2023 season. It was later revealed that the young German driver has signed with Mercedes as their reserve driver for 2023, which Michael made his return after retirement with in 2010. 

The upcoming 2023 season will be starting with the Bahrain Grand Prix on 3rd -5th March with the pre-season testing the week before and the car released starting with Haas on 31st January.