Sebastian Vettel (left) and Mark Webber are greeted by enthusiastic fans in the centre of Milton Keynes - Photo Credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Images for Red Bull
Approximately 60,000 spectators braved the cold in Milton Keynes today to see Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber drive their Red Bull F1 cars on the city’s streets to celebrate their 2011 world champion successes.
They were joined by David Coulthard, who drove a NASCAR, Red Bull stunt rider Chris Pfeiffer, and BBC presenter Jake Humphrey. Also present was Team principal Christian Horner and Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey.
“It's great to be here in Milton Keynes which is where the cars are built and everyone from the factory works,” said word champion Vettel. “It's nice to say thank you and to see all the fans from the area. It was good fun; we did some donuts and enjoyed ourselves out there. Thanks to all the fans that came today, we wanted to put on a great show, so I hope they enjoyed it. It's a great way to finish the season.”
“It was something special to drive the car in Milton Keynes today in front of all the fans,” added Webber. “The location was close to the factory and I live pretty locally too, so it was nice to give something back to the community. I know some of the roundabouts on the course from driving my road car, so it was something different to drive them in an F1 car! It was a nice atmosphere, the sun was shining and it was good for everyone to get close to the cars. It's a great thing that Red Bull has done to say thank you to the fans.”
Horner also thanked the many fans for their support, and the local council for closing the roads today. “To run an F1 car through the middle of Milton Keynes was fantastic, so many of our workforce are local and it's great to see so many fans here,” he said. “It's flattering to have so many people turn out to celebrate what we have achieved. Without the fans, there's no Formula One and no Red Bull, so it's good to give something back and celebrate our double World Championship like this.
“I would like to say a huge thank you to Milton Keynes Council for what they have done for us. Closing the middle of the city on one if their busiest shopping days is highly appreciated, so a huge thank you to them for all their efforts.”
