

Vettel has enjoyed an impressive career, having made an instant impact with a remarkable win for Toro Rosso at Monza in only his second season, but success has largely eluded him in recent years. Maybe it’ll be pushed back or be more quiet, but it’s only a matter of time – that we don’t have.” When it comes to the climate crisis, there is no way that F1 or any sport or business can avoid it, because it impacts all of us. “Once I think you see these things and you are aware, I don’t think you can really unsee it. “Obviously, travelling the world, racing cars and burning resources, literally, are things that I cannot look away from,” he said. I have grown other interests and views and I can’t ignore these voices.” He has been vocal on environmental issues in the past and specifically cited the climate emergency as a factor in making his mind up. “But also physically time away from home, from kids and family. “I know how intense this job is and how much dedication goes into this and if you do this I am convinced you have to do it the right way,” he said in Budapest before this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix. He noted a combination of factors had inspired his decision, including wanting to spend more time with his family and to be with his three children as they grow up, but also an interest in other issues outside F1 that had become of increasing importance to him.

He has of late expressed his ambivalence at competing in F1, a sport that has an enormous carbon footprint because of the air travel involved. In recent years, Vettel has been increasingly outspoken on environmental and social issues.
