Sebastian Vettel has been one of the most outspoken drivers in F1 and has used his voice to speak up against social causes whenever possible. He has been immensely dedicated to raising awareness regarding the environment despite being a racing driver himself. Even though this has attracted widespread criticism and Vettel has often been called a hypocrite, the former Red Bull driver reveals how he did everything that could have been done from his position.
Vettel came under immense criticism when he rocked up to the 2022 Canadian GP in an anti-oilsands t-shirt, to criticize the government of Alberta. It wasn’t received well by the people in power and Alberta’s environment minister Sonya Savage pointed out how hypocritical it was for a man who drives an Aston Martin race car and is backed by Saudi Aramco, to talk about the oilsands.
I have seen a lot of hypocrisy over the years, but this one takes the cake. A race car driver sponsored by Aston Martin, with financing from Saudi Aramco, complaining about the oilsands. 1/3 #ableg https://t.co/8gaMl7JeFj
— Sonya Savage, KC (@sonyasavage) June 17, 2022
However, Vettel did not refute the claims and accepted the fact that what he is doing makes him nothing less than a hypocrite. However, the four-time world champion also stressed the fact that he has taken drastic steps to reduce his contribution to climate change.
Sebastian Vettel felt happy taking a step back
In the latest edition of The Red Bulletin, Sebastian Vettel spoke about the steps that he had taken in order to play his part in saving the environment. He explained that he started off by measuring and noting down his carbon footprint. Then he slowly started working on getting his footprint down.
He did this by making some radical changes in his lifestyle. The major change was that he tried to avoid flying whenever possible. Vettel said, “Except for Silverstone and Budapest, I travelled to all European races by car last season. I don’t want to dictate anything to anyone or present myself as an angel. But that’s how I started with myself.”
⚠️ | Sebastian Vettel has revealed that he traveled to all European races by car instead of taking flights (besides Budapest and Silverstone) last season.
“A few years ago, I started measuring my carbon footprint. I wrote down every car kilometer, every flight, every overnight… pic.twitter.com/xKFQ7EIxwS
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) August 16, 2023
According to Vettel, not only did it help the environment, but it also helped with his mental peace. He explained that towards the start of his motorsports career, he had always attended the races by car. However, as his career progressed, a lack of time forced him to take to the aerial route
However, as per Vettel, “The step back felt good. To plan things better, to take them into your own hands.” He admitted that it wasn’t logistically possible for him to omit flights completely, but he tried to reduce it as much as possible. It should be noted that Vettel is extremely rich and he could have chosen the most lavish lifestyle, without having to answer anyone.
The key to greener cities
Vettel then went on to explain how it was logistically possible for him to attend the races on road and avoid flights. The German racer relies on an electric Porsche Taycan and a Volkswagen bus to get him to places.
Seb Vettel: “Don’t worry, I’ve got your back!”
Ethnic minorities? ✅
LGBTQIA+? ✅
The environment? ✅
Kids? ✅
Women? ✅#F1 pic.twitter.com/tqxgOnLtvf
— Laura Leslie (@LauraLeslieF1) July 19, 2021
Even though the bus itself is not electric and produces quite a bit of pollution, it fits in everything from children to bicycle which is the major plus point. As per Vettel, having a better public transport system can be the key to the cities being greener in the future.
According to the former Ferrari man, one should think about how the world can become a better place to live in. People will subscribe to greener alternatives when it makes sense to them practically. Vettel is hopeful of a much better future for the planet.
