Sebastian Vettel appears on the show “Top Gear”

For many car enthusiasts, Top Gear is a benchmark show, known for its quality as well as its wacky side, with hosts competing in tests sometimes bordering on stupidity and making statements that occasionally shock some embassies.

This must-see automobile show, inaugurated in 2002 in its new version and presented by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May, showcases in each episode a celebrity’s performance in a reasonably priced car, invited to complete a timed lap on the Top Gear circuit, where series Lotus cars and the latest McLaren MP4-12c were developed.

Throughout the 17 seasons of Top Gear – with two seasons per year – celebrities have come and gone, as have the cars used: thus, the Suzuki Liana was replaced by the Chevrolet Lacetti, which was in turn replaced by the Kia Cee’d.

The recorded times are subject to ranking, but when Damon Hill, the first Formula One driver to be invited, broke the celebrities’ record, it was agreed that a specific ranking for top-category drivers was necessary.

Since then, eight drivers have taken on the challenge, the latest being none other than the reigning world champion, Sebastian Vettel, who took part in the exercise alongside the British Grand Prix, with the result we invite you to discover in the video below. It was also an opportunity for the German to experience Jeremy Clarkson’s humor!

Here is the ranking before Sebastian Vettel’s participation:

1st – Rubens Barrichello: 1’44”3 on dry track

2nd – Nigel Mansell: 1’44”6 on dry track

3rd – Lewis Hamilton: 1’44”7 on a wet track with oil traces

4th – Jenson Button: 1’44”7 on dry track

5th – Jenson Button: 1’44”9 on a wet track

6th – Damon Hill: 1’46”3 on a dry track

7th – Mark Webber: 1’47”1 on a very wet track

To note that Michael Schumacher, who participated in the show and also posed as the indispensable Stig—the mystery driver tasked with going up against the clock with the tested cars—does not have a recorded time: according to the legend of Top Gear, the German driver supposedly got lost on the track.