“Our sport would be ready for one” : Sebastian Vettel contends that F1 is ready for an openly gay driver
Follow Us
Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel claims that Formula One is prepared for an openly gay driver, which would help in boosting the eradication of stereotyping and drive the sport “in a better direction.” The four-time World Champion, who ranks 3rd all-time in Grand Prix wins, will grace the cover of Attitude, the world’s best-selling gay publication, in July/August.
He will join David Beckham and Adam Peaty on the roster of Attitude’s straight cover celebrities, having been defined by the magazine as a “LGBTQ ally” who’s used his forum to push for reform from Formula One to battle discrimination. Vettel claims he was obliquely able to pay attention to folks in the Formula One world talking “negatively” about the LGBTQ community before gaining the ability to express against such remarks.
“I’ve not seen it directly, but indirectly I’ve heard people talking negatively about LGBTQ people and the LGBTQ community. Whenever I heard those things it always felt wrong, but today I’m more confident to speak up and shut them down. Homophobia is prejudice, and prejudice is wrong. It really is that simple,” said Vettel.
Sebastian Vettel urges that there’s scope for more to be done in F1
There are presently no openly gay drivers on the F1 grid, with Mike Beuttler, who raced from 1974 to 1976, being the sport’s last recognised gay male driver. Even so, there have been gay female motor racing stars, such as W Series racer and Vettel’s Aston Martin coworker Jessica Hawkins.
“It’s getting better, you do now see a few engineers and mechanics who feel able to be more open. But there’s still more we can do to improve diversity and inclusivity in motorsport, not only in terms of sexuality but also by supporting and encouraging women, people of colour, those with disabilities and so on,” explained the German driver.
“Perhaps it wouldn’t have been the case in the past, but now I think a gay Formula 1 driver would be welcomed and rightly so. I feel that a gay driver would help to speed up the elimination of prejudice and help push our sport in a better direction. So I think and hope our sport would be ready for one,” concluded the 4-time F1 World Champion.
Stay Updated!
Rishika Saha
(445 Articles Published)