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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Daniel Moxon

RB Leipzig ace Emil Forsberg turns heads as he drives F1 car around city with racing icon

Emil Forsberg swapped the football pitch for the drivers' seat as he took a Formula 1 car for a spin on the streets of Leipzig.

Red Bull are known for turning heads by taking some of their former cars out for a spin on public roads. The residents of Leipzig were the latest to be treated to such a spectacle, as one of the energy drinks giant's football stars joined forces with their F1 team.

Ahead of RB Leipzig's first home game of the season, against Koln, F1 legend David Coulthard visited the German city to meet Forsberg and take a unique tour of its sights. And they did so in a specially converted two-seater car.

The 720bhp machine boasts a V10 engine and is capable of speeds up to 200mph. Given they were on public roads there weren't able to take it to the limit, but Forsberg had the chance to don a race suit and helmet as he climbed into the car with Coulthard and took to the streets.

The midfielder took the Scottish racing driver to some of his favourite spots in the city, including the Konneritz Bridge and the modern Plagwitz district. And they weren't exactly inconspicuous in the process, given it was the first time an F1 car has ever been driven around Leipzig.

Forsberg took Coulthard for a tour of the city (Joerg Mitter/Red Bull Content Pool)

"It was an incredible experience for me to drive through Leipzig with David in a Formula 1 car," said Forsberg. "You experience something like that maybe once in a lifetime. The feeling and the sound in the racing car are insane – a pure adrenaline rush."

And Coulthard, a 13-time race winner in F1, added: "It's the closest you can really get to giving a passenger the sensation of what it is to drive a Grand Prix car. This is my second time in Leipzig. It's a cool, young university city. There's just an energy and a vibe here that really makes it feel it's coming up."

Forsberg donned a race suit instead of his usual football kit (Joerg Mitter/Red Bull Content Pool)

The 51-year-old regularly takes part in such promotional activities for Red Bull, the team he finished his F1 career with. He did not win a race with the team, but played a major role in helping it to establish itself in the sport after entering in 2005.

Meanwhile, Forsberg is a club legend at RB Leipzig, the club which enjoyed a meteoric rise through the German footballing pyramid to become one of the Bundesliga's top teams. He joined when they were in the second tier, and has remains one of their top players since they turned themselves into a regular Champions League side.

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