London Marathon Results: F1 legend Sebastian Vettel breaks through magical time barrier

F1 legend Sebastian Vettel produced a fantastic performance to smash through the magical 3-hour time barrier at the 2026 London Marathon on Sunday.

The 38-year-old four-time world champion spends much of his life these days campaigning for worthy causes, and on Sunday he raised money for two with a brilliant performance in hot conditions in the English capital.

Vettel, who claimed four world titles during an epic run at Red Bull, reached the end of the 26.2miles in a sensational time of 2:59:08 - just inside three hours and a terrific effort for an amateur.

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Sebastian Vettel's incredible race

Seb, wearing number 45294 and racing for the Brain & Spine Foundation and the Grand Prix Trust, began his race at 09:35 local time and set a metronomic pace throughout the gruelling distance.

German great Vettel, who retired from F1 racing in 2022, was remarkably consistent throughout the race, reaching half distance in 1:29:18, on target to break three hours but still needing a mighty effort in the second half to keep up that pace.

The former Red Bull, Ferrari and Aston Martin superstar did just that, completing the second 13.1 miles in 1:29:50 to break through that 3-hour time barrier.

It was a record-breaking day all round in London, with Kenyan megastar Sabastian Sawe becoming the first athlete ever to break 2 hours for the marathon in normal race conditions. He clocked a mind-boggling 1:59:30.

Vettel time splits

Vettel's time splits for the race looked like this:

F1 great excited to achieve 'ambitious goal'

It was a very happy Vettel who spoke with media after the finish line, and he said he'd loved the London Marathon experience.

"It felt very long but it's been my first time, I didn't know what to expect so it's been amazing how many people there were next to the course and how happy everyone is. So it's a really great experience and I'm very excited still and very happy that I finished."

Vettel said he had set himself that three-hour goal before the start, and was delighted to smash through that magical barrier.

"I always wanted to do a marathon. obviously always kept fit, did a lot of running, cycling - so I thought it's about time. I set myself an ambitious goal which I managed to achieve. I wanted to be just below three hours, which I did.

"So I'm very happy with that. But I think even more so, happy that I finished, and having lived the experience I can only recommend it."

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