Sebastian Vettel and Mick Schumacher have led a tribute to F1 legend Michael Schumacher at the 2025 Race of Champions event in Australia.

Schumacher Sr stands as one of the greatest drivers in F1 history, having claimed a total of seven World Championships and 91 race wins in a glittering F1 career.

Sebastian Vettel makes racing return with Michael Schumacher tribute

The 56-year-old has not been seen in public since he suffered a severe brain injury in a skiing accident in 2013, with Schumacher’s family fiercely protective of the former racing driver’s privacy.

Vettel enjoyed a close relationship with Schumacher during his F1 career with the former Red Bull, Ferrari and Aston Martin, later acting as a mentor to Schumacher’s son Mick, who made 43 F1 starts with the Haas team in 2021/22.

After competing together for Team Germany in the Race of Champions – a stadium-based exhibition event involving drivers from various disciplines – in 2023, Vettel and Schumacher joined forces for the 2024 edition in Sydney this weekend.

Go deeper: Michael Schumacher’s impact on F1

👉 PlanetF1.com’s Hall of Fame: Michael Schumacher – the beating heart of Ferrari

👉 Michael Schumacher accident: Separating facts from fiction 11 years on

The pair led a tribute to Schumacher at the Accor Stadium, unfurling a banner reading: ‘Keep Fighting Michael – We Miss You.’

All 20 drivers involved in the Race of Champions – including Mercedes F1 reserve driver Valtteri Bottas, former McLaren and Red Bull star David Coulthard and rally legends Sebastien Loeb and Petter Solberg – gathered alongside Vettel and Schumacher for the tribute.

Sebastian Vettel leads the tributes as we salute our great friend Michael Schumacher.#KeepFightingMichael ❤️ pic.twitter.com/sW2xhrO6dD

— #ROCSydney (@RaceOfChampions) March 8, 2025

Vettel and Schumacher fell short in the Nations Cup in Sydney as Team France, made up of Loeb and former Alpine F1 junior Victor Martins, triumphed over the all-Australian team of Will Brown and and Brodie Kostecki in the final.

The individual competition was won by Loeb, who became the first driver in the Race of Champions’ 33-year history to win ‘the double’ by scooping the Nations Cup and the singles title.

It marked Loeb’s record-breaking fifth Race of Champions singles victory in total, having previously won the individual award in 2003, 2005, 2008 and 2022.

Loeb, 51, previously won a record nine World Rally Championship titles between 2004 and 2012.

Schumacher both exited at the quarter-final stage, losing out to Brown and Chaz Mostert respectively.

Vettel’s appearance at the Race of Champions marked a welcome return to racing with the 37-year-old’s last competitive appearance coming at the 2023 event.

The German has been persistently linked with a return to F1 since his retirement at the end of the 2022 season.

Vettel tested Porsche’s hypercar last spring, sparking suggestions that he was considering entering the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours event.

However, Vettel is no longer believed to be in consideration for a role in Porsche’s World Endurance Championship assault.

Read next: ‘Killer Coulthard’ opens up on iconic Michael Schumacher Spa clash and Tifosi abuse