The Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge has been taken to its limit by Formula 1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel. But this was no ordinary test. The concept car – that has a 3.8-litre 568hp, twin-turbocharged, petrol engine – had to excel on the section of race track that inspired its name; Eau Rouge at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.

 

This is one of the most challenging circuits in motor sport where only the finest machinery excels. During the test, the World Champion had to travel as far as possible around the track in a pre-defined time (4:10:920).

 

This was based on how much social media interaction he had accumulated in the weeks before the test. One action equated to one millisecond on the circuit. Vettel, in fact, covered 8.748km despite the treacherous weather and throwing his car sideways.

 

His competitors were Pan Xiaoting – a Nine-Ball World Champion – who covered 7.300km in 4:00:050. She had less time on the track as she had less social media interaction. After climbing out of the car she exclaimed that: “I reached the highest speed of my life on the track”. Third place went to Parker Kligerman who covered 6.241km in 3:02:370. This professional racing driver was, as expected, smooth/consistent throughout.