“You could say boycott, don’t even go there,” Sebastian Vettel gives his opinion on the controversy around Saudi Arabian GP

4-time World Championship Winner Sebastian Vettel

Sebastian Vettel is yet to race and grace his presence on the F1 grid. The German has missed the first two races on the F1 calendar after he tested positive for Covid right before the Bahrain Grand Prix. He is temporarily replaced by Nico Hulkenberg alongside Lance Stroll and Vettel is expected to drive at Australian Grand Prix on the Melbourne circuit.

Formula One has decided to go ahead with the Sunday race despite drivers raising safety concerns due to a missile attack that took place on Friday night just nine miles away from the Jeddah race track on an oil facility. While many people on the paddock wanted and decided to leave, the former driver turned commentator Ralf Schumacher was one of them. But it particularly wasn’t an easy option for the drivers and the teams to leave.

As BBC Sport reported, “possible consequences of not racing, such as how easily teams and drivers would be able to leave the country if the race did not happen”, which was an ominous statement given considering the country’s poor human rights record.

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Sebastian Vettel’s stance on the situation at the Jeddah track

While talking about the situation in Saudi Arabia and the state of the Jeddah track, Sebastian Vettel, former Aston Martin driver shares a few things and acknowledges that it is not easy finding a balance for the same. The driver asks how independent can one be on the payroll to Christian Hollmann during an interview.

Vettel puts forth options various options like, “You could say boycott, don’t even go there.” Or can represent what you stand for, Western values and freedom. But the real question amongst all of this is the braveness showcased while you are a paid guest.

Then he goes on to talk about Formula One and their choices. As it is not like Formula One gets to make the choice on the map, “It’s more that countries are approaching Formula 1 and it’s part of the business model that venues are putting a lot of money into it.” Said Vettel. While there are many other aspects that come into play, such as financial interests “and there are certain values, we must stand up due to the same,” according to Vettel.

When Sebastian Vettel was asked about his opinion regarding Formula One’s actions, he said “You have to take sport as a general obligation. It’s a balancing act between financial interests, to carry out the sport as we know it, and critical observation. It’s not just about Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, the Olympics were in China. The question is how many countries are left just by looking at the Formula 1 calendar.”

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