F1 legend Lewis Hamilton throws shade at the entire grid, only one rival is safe

Composite image of Hamilton looking downcast in Ferrari kit with tifosi Monza background — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 Legends

Lewis Hamilton throws shade at the entire F1 grid, only one rival is safe

Lewis Hamilton was speaking ahead of the Brazilian GP weekend

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Wednesday 12 November 2025 12:57

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F1 legend Lewis Hamilton has applauded a former championship rival while shaming the inaction of his other rivals in the sport.

Hamilton is a seven-time world champion, and uses his voice as F1's most marketable athlete to raise awareness on important topics in the world outside of motorsport, and the Brit has done lots of charitable work over the last decade.

But ever since his 2017 and 2018 rival for the championship Sebastian Vettel opted to retire from the sport back in 2022, Hamilton has admitted to feeling a bit lonely in his fight for change, with Vettel being the other driver on the grid who was vocal about world issues.

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Still only 38 years of age, Vettel is now taking part in a number of off-track initiatives, including last weekend ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix, where he has been raising awareness of Brazil's low recycling rates, highlighting the importance of sustainability within sport and beyond.

In addition to the recycling project, Vettel has unveiled a new environmental campaign titled 'Forest – Drawn Together' - with Brazil's Amazon Rainforest seeing devastating levels of deforestation every day.

Hamilton is now driving for Vettel's old team Ferrari, but is still helping the retired F1 legend to get his voice across about certain projects and issues.

During media day at the Brazilian GP, Hamilton said of Vettel and his new initiative: "I'm always supporting Seb. He's the only driver that I'm aware of, other than myself, that ever actually talks about important topics and fights for... He's aware of the bigger picture.

"We're in Brazil where the heart of the earth really is here with the Amazon or the lungs of the earth, and it's devastating to read how much is being destroyed day by day. And of course, there's a big summit, obviously, next week, but climate change continues to be a real topic and something that we really need to be aware of and focus on.

"Not for us older people, but more so for the younger generation. It's for us to make the change. It's not their fault that we've made a mess."

F1's push towards carbon neutrality

Of course, while there is still a long way to go outside of sport and F1, with US president Donald Trump absent from the COP30 summit in Brazil, F1 itself is attempting changes that it hopes will help it to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.

It has already reduced its carbon emissions by 26 per cent between 2018-2024, and it wants that to become 50 per cent by 2030, while also taking part in tree-planting projects that will mean that the sport will be net zero.

Next year, the wholesale regulation changes see a greater emphasis on electrical power in the newly-designed power units, as well as them being geared up to run off 100 per cent sustainable fuels.

Vettel's latest initiative is the latest in a long line of environmental work that he himself has done within F1, including at the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix, when he created a 'bee hotel' at the track.

F1 Lewis Hamilton Sebastian Vettel