Sebastian Vettel admits climate change questions his future in F1

For several years, Sebastian Vettel does not hesitate to use his aura as a quadruple world champion Formula 1 to try to make things happen in his personal battles, which are often societal struggles on a larger scale, like his old friend Lewis Hamilton. Thus, the German supported the LGBTQ+ community in Hungary, in a country where their rights are repressed, by appearing on the grid with a rainbow t-shirt and mask. He also regularly warns about issues related to human rights, for example by speaking out openly against going to ride in Russia after the country led by Vladimir Putin decided to invade Ukraine. . 

Guest Thursday evening on the BBC's flagship debate show in Great Britain (BBC Question Time), Vettel impressed the audience with his knowledge of many current topics, whether global, European or British, especially for someone whose mother tongue is not English. The four-time Formula 1 world champion addressed all the subjects to which he was invited: Brexit, English Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the increase in the cost of living following the start of the war and the dependence of European countries on Russia on the gas question or even Finland's request for membership in NATO.

Sebastian Vettel speaks out on energy dependence

Ecology and the notion of sustainable development also entered the debates, and inevitably, the German dragster was criticized on the issue. But it didn't come apart. When presenter Fiona Bruce suggested to Vettel that it was somewhat hypocritical of him to express concerns about environmental issues when he has been one of the headliners of one of the sports for around XNUMX years the most polluting on the planet, the pilot Aston Martin did not shirk his responsibilities: " It's true ". Before addressing the spectators present. “And you are right to laugh.”

“You’ve talked a lot about energy…does that make you a hypocrite?”

“When I get out of the car, of course I'm thinking, is this something that we should do?”

On #bbcqt tonight, F1 driver Sebastian Vettel and the panel discuss the energy crisis.

Join us at 10.40pm on @BBCOne. pic.twitter.com/LVMMs4CuvY

— BBC Question Time (@bbcquestiontime) May 12, 2022

Then he clarified his point. “There are questions I ask myself every day. I am not a saint, I am really worried about the future and all the subjects that concern energy, energy dependence, and more generally the direction we are taking for the future (…) On energy, we need to stop being dependent and we can because there are solutions in place. In Britain you have a gold mine that you are sitting on, in this case the wind, and you have the opportunity to increase your energy reserve with the power of the wind and the sun. Not all countries have the same strengths and weaknesses. If you take Austria, they have the Alps and lots of water. They can pump it, store it and reuse it.”

The one who triumphed in the early 2010s with Red Bull admitted that his questioning about his future in F1 was mainly linked to the consequences of traveling in a sport which travels 23 times a year, with enormous logistics. “There are things that are within my control, and others that are not. Driving remains my passion, I love it, and every time I get in the car, I have fun. When I come out of it though, of course, I wonder if this is really something we should be doing, traveling around the world and wasting all these resources? Then on the other hand, we entertain people. During Covid, we were one of the first sports to resume (…) we do not have a monopoly on entertainment obviously, but without this entertainment, in the difficult period of confinement, we would all have gone crazy. In short, I ask myself all these questions. There are things I do because I think I can do them better. Do I need to fly every time? No, not when I can take the car. But like I said, there are some things I rely on and some things I don't. » 

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