Sebastian Vettel swaps pits for paramedic challenge

Aug 2, 2016, 03:45PM. By Bikeland Staff

Sebastian Vettel’s driving skills have passed a unique health-check - with flying colours - as the four-time world champion Scuderia Ferrari driver jumped behind the unfamiliar wheel of a three tonne ambulance to go head-to-head with an emergency services driver.

Taking to the track after the British Grand Prix, Vettel joined UK paramedic, Alex Knapton, at the Bruntingthorpe race track near Silverstone and swapped the iconic red of Ferrari for the flashing blue lights of a UK ambulance. Vettel was tasked with sharing high performance driving tips in his Ferrari 488 GTB with a 3.9-litre turbocharged V-8 engine and top speed of over 200 mph, before joining Alex on a lap of the track in his three tonne ambulance grabbing maximum performance from the vehicle and a modest 88 mph.

The two drivers, acting as both teachers and students for a day, coached each other on their professional driving style. Vettel had the opportunity to share tips from the high octane world of Formula 1® and Alex shared tips from his 4 years’ experience attending real-life emergencies and saving hundreds of lives. Fans can find out what happened when the two went head-to-head in some unusual hot laps by watching the video, which sees Vettel getting behind the wheel of an ambulance for the first time to set his fast lap time, while Alex got to grips with the power of the Ferrari engine.

Sebastian Vettel, Scuderia Ferrari driver, said:
“Paramedics play an essential role in motorsport around the world and not just in Formula 1. They need to perform to such high standards every day because people’s lives depends on them. Shell V-Power race fuel supplied to Scuderia Ferrari contains at least 99% of the same types of compounds used in Shell V-Power fuels for the road.”

Alex Knapton, a Paramedic from South Central Ambulance Service, said:
“Getting the opportunity to swap the ambulance for the Ferrari 488 GTB was a dream come true! It was an unbelievable experience to get that close to one of the stars of Formula 1. Sebastian was on great form coaching on high performance driving tips and joking about the lack of a radio in the ambulance.”

Marcus Sheldon, Fuels Marketing Manager at Shell Retail UK, said:
“Watching Sebastian Vettel undergo the blue light fast lap highlights how drivers in and out of the motorsport arena rely heavily on the power and performance of their vehicle. The Shell Innovation Partnership with Scuderia Ferrari provides us with an environment to test new fuels in extreme conditions; we can then transfer those learnings into our road fuel for the everyday motorist when performance matters most.”
The Shell Innovation Partnership with Scuderia Ferrari is one of the longest running and most successful in Formula 1 history. It sees the two companies come together to develop fuels that work superbly on the track and the road.“

Source: Shell Advance Motorsport