Vettel questions F1 future - ‘I’m not a saint, I’m a hypocrite’

Sam Hall
Friday 13 May 2022 09:29 - Updated: 09:29

Sebastian Vettel has questioned if he should continue "wasting resources" by racing in F1, conceding himself to being a 'hypocrite' by racing while raising environmental concerns.

The Aston Martin driver appeared on the BBC's political debate programme, Question Time, on Thursday evening and discussed topics including Brexit, the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis.

At last weekend's Miami Grand Prix, Vettel wore an eyecatching shirt with the slogan, 'Miami 2060. First grand prix underwater. Act now or swim later'.

Asked if his position as a "gas-guzzling" F1 driver makes him a "hypocrite", Vettel conceded bluntly: “It does, and you are right when you laugh because there are questions that I ask myself every day and I am not a saint.

"I am very concerned when it comes to the future so these topics, when it comes to energy, energy dependence and where we are going in the future, I think we need to stop being dependent [on fossil fuels].

“And we can, because in Britain you have this gold mine you are sitting on which is wind and you have the ability to increase your energy supply with wind power and solar.

“Not every country has its strengths and weaknesses. If you go to Austria, they have the Alps and they have water, they can pump it up store it and get it back down.

“But without getting caught up, it is true and it is something I am asking myself.”

Vettel on F1 future

Vettel is out of contract with Aston Martin at the end of the current season and has yet to decide if he will sign a new deal.

Asked by host Fiona Bruce to clarify if the questions he was asking himself were in relation to his future in F1, Vettel answered: “Yeah, and travelling the world.

"There are certain things that are in my control and certain things that are not. It is my passion to drive a car, I love it, and every time I step into a car, I love it.

“When I get out of the car, of course, I am thinking as well, ‘Is this something that we should do? Travel the world, wasting resources'.

“On the other hand, we are entertaining people. During Covid, we were one of the first sports to start again. When everybody’s heads were about to explode, there were Formula 1 races back on.

“I’m not saying Formula 1 has this huge position in the world to deliver entertainment, there are plenty of people, if you talk about entertainment, sports, culture, comedy, a lot of people couldn’t perform and a lot of people missed that and I think if we don’t have that in general, we would probably go mad.

“But there are a lot of these questions that I ask myself. There are a lot of things that I do because I feel I can do them better. Do I need to take a plane every time? No, not when I can take the car.

“But as I said, there are certain things that are in my control and certain things outside my control.”