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Driving the championship winning RB7, the Red Bull Junior driver Arvid Lindblad took to the historic Elland Road pitch to race players of Premier League bound Leeds United.
The race, which involved moving from one penalty box to the other and back, was a fun challenge to determine who was fastest on grass – a footballer or a Formula One car.
The concept was dreamt up by Leeds’ players on a visit to the Red Bull garage at last year’s British Grand Prix, and as they watched the race from Red Bull’s Pole Position hospitality, they thought they might be able to beat an F1 car – if a few obstacles were added.
Willy Gnonto, Largie Ramazani and Isaac Schmidt were picked as the Club’s fastest players to sprint alongside Arvid Lindblad, at the wheel of the RB7. The obstacles in question, for the 2011 World Drivers’ and Constructors winning car, were the Elland Road turf and a 180 degree turn to head back to the opposition’s box.
The race was closely fought, with the footballers getting the quicker start as the car struggled for grip on the grass with its wet tyres. But after a slow getaway, the RB7 roared into action, catching the players at the opposite penalty box and a smooth turn from Lindblad allowed Oracle Red Bull Racing to cruise to victory.
Commenting on the challenge, Lindblad said: “Ahead of the race I was a bit nervous. I’d never driven on grass and had no idea how it would go – only Red Bull would make something like this happen!
“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 footballers rather than other drivers.”
Reflecting on the unique experience, Leeds United’s Largie Ramazani, said: “This was a great experience. If we could do this with Red Bull every day, I would! The only thing better would be getting in the car.
“I love F1 and 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 today. Before the race I was nervous, but I was confident too. I think we did great, but in the end the car was just too quick.
“One of the players involved in this idea was Dan James, unfortunately, he’s been injured at the minute, but I’d back him to try and beat this car, I think he could smoke it!”
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