Sebastian Vettel Highlights “Courage” as the Key to Increasing Women’s Participation in Motorsport

Sebastian Vettel is interviewed by F1 Presenter Laura Winter in the RACE4WOMEN CHALLENGE ME event during previews ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Corniche Circuit

Despite hanging up his racing helmet at the end of the 2022 season, Sebastian Vettel has still remained a key figure in the F1 paddock. The four-time world champion is continuing to leave a legacy of social change that became a trademark of his towards the end of his racing career.

At the 2025 Saudi Arabian GP weekend, the former Red Bull and Ferrari driver organized the second edition of his Race4Women event in Jeddah. This saw the former #5 driver take to the track, in go-karts, with 20 drivers from Saudi Arabia.

Vettel’s plans to conduct this event were with the view of increasing awareness about women’s rights, and also giving a platform to young female racing drivers to showcase their talent. In fact, the fastest drivers of the day even got an all-access prize to the Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

With the evening in hindsight, Vettel jotted down the key takeaways for him and how he perceives to tackle the challenge of increasing participation from women in motorsport. He believes it to be courage and the mettle to take your destiny into your own hands.

“I think other than just becoming a race car driver yourself, I think it’s more having the courage: that you could be behind the wheel, you could be in charge. I think that’s the bigger message,” he explained in an interview with F1 TV’s Laura Winter.

The event, last weekend, was the continuation of Vettel’s efforts to raise awareness for this cause. Back in 2021, he had hosted the inaugural edition of the Race4Women initiative in Jeddah when the track made its debut on the F1 calendar.

And his cause has already started showing results.

Vettel revealed that in the three years that he has been away, he has noticed an influx of local female racing drivers frequenting the track. Moreover, they have also started their own all-female championship.

The event was not just a PR activity. Along with the chance to witness the Grand Prix live on Sunday, the German generously gave the girls on track his time and even sat down with them and imparted his wisdom on racing and race craft.

All in all, it would have been an inspiring evening for the girls who took part in this initiative, getting some exclusive face time with the four-time F1 world champion. Vettel would hope this event gives them a worthy step forward in their own ambitions to carve out a career for themselves in the world of motorsport.

Post Edited By: Aishwary Gaonkar
Saudi Arabian GP Sebastian Vettel

About the author

Anirban Aly Mandal

Anirban Aly Mandal is an F1 writer at The SportsRush, with over 1000 articles under his belt, Anirban's love for F1 started when he discovered a copy of F1 2014 on his computer. With over half a decade's worth of time spent religiously following the sport, he’s dived deep into the world of motorsports. However, Anirban's expertise goes beyond just writing - he has also written several academic papers focused on the domain of motorsports and the law. His passion for the sport is so immense that he aspires to work as a legal advisor in the most prestigious racing series in the world someday. When it comes to Formula 1, Anirban finds great pleasure in re-watching classic races and idolizes the likes of Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, and Sebastian Vettel. His top picks include Brazil '91, Silverstone '92, and Germany '19. Outside of the sport, Anirban is an avid sim racer, often found racing on titles like Assetto Corsa, F1 22, and Automobilista. Apart from his interests in gaming, Anirban has a keen interest in philosophy, literature and music.

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