- Red Bull are minority owners of Leeds and took a car to the Elland Road turf
- Three Leeds stars raced it on the pitch, with the car struggling for grip
- The Whites are preparing for their return to the Premier League next season
Three Leeds United players raced a Red Bull Formula One car after challenging the driver to a battle at Elland Road.
The club are still riding the credit of a wave after securing promotion back to the Premier League after two years away, winning the Championship on goal difference ahead of Burnley.
Daniel Farke’s side reached 100 points to secure a return to the top flight, and their celebrations continued in rather bizarre fashion – with three of the club’s players racing one of the fastest cars on the planet.
Willy Gnonto, Largie Ramazani and Isaac Schmidt raced the car, driven by Formula Two driver Arvid Lindblad in a drag race from one penalty box to another.
After a slow start from the car as it struggled to pick up grip, it eventually prevailed in a race that included the vehicle turning 180 degrees and winning by around 30 yards.
It proved, if there was any doubt, that a racing car is indeed faster than some of the quickest players, but provided some light entertainment from the club and its minority owners.
Three Leeds United players raced a Red Bull Formula One car on the Elland Road turf
Willy Gnonto, Largie Ramazani and Isaac Schmidt raced the car, driven by Formula Two driver Arvid Lindblad
The car had struggled for grip but eventually won – Red Bull are minority owners of Leeds
Commenting on the race, Leeds’ Ramazani said: ‘This was a great experience, I wish we could do this every day with Red Bull. The only thing better would be getting in the car.
‘I love Formula One. I went to the Monaco Grand Prix last week, which was a bucket list moment for me. I used to play Formula One games on the console when I was younger, so it was surreal to be next to a real car and race against it.
‘Before the race I was scared, but I was confident too. I think we did great, but in the end the car was just too quick.
‘I think one of the players involved in this idea was Dan James. Unfortunately, he’s been injured, but I’d back my team-mate over that car any day. DJ would smoke this car.’
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.’
