Sebastian Vettel is eyeing a different kind of lap record as he prepares to race again later this month – but without a roaring Formula 1 engine powering him along. Instead, the four-time world champion will be using the speed of his own two legs as he takes on the 26.2-mile challenge posed by the London Marathon.

Vettel will be joined by another familiar face from the F1 world as he takes on the challenge: journalist Tom Clarkson, who hosts the official FIA press conferences on a race weekend and also F1’s Beyond The Grid interview podcast. And they will both be putting their bodies through the experience for a good cause.

Vettel is no stranger to charitable ventures. He is especially passionate about protecting the environment and has used his profile since retirement to raise awareness of issues facing the planet. Examples include the F1FOREST collage he brought to the Brazilian Grand Prix paddock, to highlight global deforestation, and his ‘Buzzin’ Corner’ biodiversity project at Suzuka, home of the Japanese Grand Prix.

This time he will be running to raise money for two F1-related charities. He and Clarkson are representing the Brain & Spine Foundation, founded by revered former F1 medical officer Professor Sid Watkins, which helps people suffering from neurological conditions, and the Grand Prix Trust which supports people who currently and previously worked in F1.

It means Vettel will be in London on Sunday, April 26, for the 2026 edition of one of the biggest marathon events in the world. It will be one of his first major appearances since his final British Grand Prix in 2022, before his F1 retirement at the end of that season.

He is still only 38 and so very much young enough to race in F1 again, should he have the desire to do so. After all, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton both continue to compete in their 40s. But while the idea of a one-off appearance appeals, Vettel says his body would no longer be able to physically tolerate a full season.

He said in an appearance on German TV earlier this year: “I would get back in for one more drive, and I’m still fit enough to do so. But I’ve been out of it for too long to do a whole season.” He has previously said he would “seriously consider” any offer to drive again at Suzuka, his favourite circuit.

Vettel has also been linked with a role back at Red Bull, the team with which he won four consecutive drivers’ titles between 2010 and 2013. But while he did “speak a little bit” with Helmut Marko, before the Austrian’s exit at the end of last year, Vettel said talks over a place in the organisations “never gained any traction”.