Sebastian Vettel not only made sporting headlines in Formula 1 last weekend. After the former world champion first attracted attention in Montreal with a protest against tar sand mining in Canada, the man from Heppenheim didn’t wear his specially made helmet during the race. According to Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack, the British racing team had no influence on the decision.
Sebastian Vettel has been demanding more climate protection for years and often offends with his opinion – as was the case at the last Grand Prix in Montreal. At the press conference, the 34-year-old spoke out against tar sand mining in the Canadian province of Alberta.
Vettel not only received encouragement for his action. “I’ve seen a lot of hypocrisy over the years, but this is the crowning glory,” said Alberta’s Energy Minister Sonya Savage on Twitter.
Vettel remains silent
“A racing driver from Aston Martin, financed by Saudi Aramco, complains about oil sands,” wrote the politicians, alluding to the main sponsor of the racing team. Aramco is considered the largest oil production company in the world, the company comes from Saudi Arabia.
Vettel actually wanted to continue his protest at the Montreal race with a specially designed helmet. But in the end it didn’t come to that. The former world champion did not want to give the reasons for this afterwards and remained silent when asked by “Sky Sports” whether he had given up the helmet due to pressure from the team.
Krack: Vettel “a free man”
Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack commented on the discussions. “With the helmet and the T-shirt, he wanted to draw attention to the topic. At some point he decided that the attention had been reached,” said the 50-year-old from “car motor and sportquoted. “He can’t wear the same T-shirt every day,” Krack tried to defuse the debate with humor.
As the Aston Martin official explained, Vettel is coordinating his planned actions with the team in advance. “You’ve seen in the past that such campaigns mainly took place on Friday and Saturday. But of course he’s free to decide,” says Krack. After all, Vettel is “a free man”.