Sebastian Vettel criticises ‘culture of shame’ in speaking out on sustainability

Motor sport star Sebastian Vettel has criticised the “culture of shame” around carbon footprints as he spoke about wanting to see more F1 voices speak up on sustainability.

The four-time Formula One world champion, who said climate emergency and F1’s impact played a role in his decision to retire in 2022, has set up multiple sustainability projects in recent years.

These include getting drivers and teams to build insect hotels next to circuits, racing old cars with synthetic fuels and supporting the development of bee research facilities.

Speaking at the Blue Earth Summit in London on Wednesday, Vettel said he would “love to see more” high-profile F1 figures being vocal about the climate crisis, but added that “all this shame culture doesn’t get us anywhere”.

“I think it’s the challenge of our lifetime,” he told the PA news agency, adding that it is “exciting to take part” in finding solutions.

He said: “We can all do that to a bigger and lesser degree, of course, but yeah – I would love to see more of that.

“And I know the potential of the platform – not just because it’s so popular, but also if you just look at the engineering power – how much knowledge and how much passion to look for more knowledge and to develop the better solution (that) is inside that world – to use that for a general benefit.”

The former Red Bull driver said more people speaking out is also about “realising that you don’t need to be ashamed”.

“Am I a hypocrite? Absolutely,” he said. “I travelled the world for so many years. If you want to know how big my footprint was flying around the world … I was shocked. I was embarrassed.”

But he said world championships in many sports will continue to be held across the globe with competition showcased in different countries “as a part of human culture”.

“These things are not going to just disappear by: ‘Let’s all hide in a tree and hide in the woods and live a life without any footprint’,” he said.

“But I think working on solutions is very exciting.”

It comes after F1’s head of environment, social and governance Ellen Jones said there was no “silver bullet” for decarbonising the championship as she outlined the innovations and solutions her team are driving to help reach its target of net zero by 2030.

Asked about how he thinks F1 is doing to cut emissions since he retired, Vettel said: “I do get the feeling that obviously they’re taking it serious(ly).

“I do also believe that more can be done because I know what a powerful machinery F1 is and how much money floats around.

“But I also know from recent years how much you can inspire people, or how much reach you have, which I think is a very powerful thing.”

F1 said its biggest impact comes from areas like logistics, transport and travel as 10 teams, 20 drivers and tonnes of equipment move around the world for almost half of the year.

The sport has been facing a growing debate around whether it should be cutting back, rather than increasing, the number of races each year – now at a record 24 – and how it adjusts the calendar to cut down miles travelled between events.

F1 has made recent efforts to rearrange races to cut emissions, moving Japan to April to align closer with China, and Qatar running back-to-back with Abu Dhabi.

On the calendar, Vettel said: “There’s still room for improvement, I believe. Obviously, it’s a commercial decision as well in terms of how many races you have, and it’s a business that you’re running.

“So I think some of the things you just have to, in a way, accept but that doesn’t mean that you can’t change within.”

The former driver also spoke those who have questioned his sustainability work.

“I have lots of comments from fans or people inside saying: ‘why are you trying to do this? This is not us’,” he said.

“Once you then talk to them and get into why I am convinced and why do I care, people start to open up.

“I think the audience in Formula One for racing is exactly one of these audiences that we need, because it’s not just inside here in this lovely venue where we will think alike.”

“I think it’s trying to involve everyone,” he added.

“I’m very privileged. I found a passion early on, and I really loved and fulfilled me and gifted me with a life that now I can afford to look at these kind of problems – like what might be wrong in the calendar. A lot of people don’t have the luxury.”