Aston Martin driver Sebastian Vettel has been very interested in environmental and political issues in recent years, stating that motorsport’s top category must be realistic about the impact of its technical regulations.
While Formula 1 sees current turbo-hybrid engines and the growing use of sustainable fuels as central to its goal of reducing its carbon emissions to the point of disappearance, Vettel is more skeptical.
Having had to defend the category from the “petrol guzzler” label in a recent interview for the BBC ‘s Question Time , the veteran German driver was quite candid about the situation.
“The question is: how do these engines, the most efficient in the world, help or contribute to people who walk and go to work or wherever?” Vettel asked.
“What benefit does this engine have? That’s very questionable and it’s also very complex.”
“Don’t get me wrong, as a hobbyist and from an engineering point of view, it’s a fascinating technology.”
“But how much of this technology is transferred to road cars? Not much.”
“So we have to be honest, realistic and tell the truth. I think that’s very important.”
Formula 1 is preparing a new engine regulation that will come into force from the 2026 season, and it seems clear that it will maintain the structure of the current turbo-hybrid power units, but abandon the MGU-H complex.
Vettel explained that the top flight has to think carefully about whether it is doing all it can to address the environmental concerns around them.
“Obviously F1 has been stuck with this engine for some time and the question is: is it enough?” said the veteran German driver.
“Are we doing enough? Considering how deep we are in this [environmental] situation, I’m sorry to put it that way, but looking at where the world is going, with the climate crisis and whatnot, the answer is that we’re not doing enough. enough”.
“And above all, as they say, it is a sport that consumes a lot of gasoline, which is true, I think we are in the spotlight and we have to do something more than what we do. I think we do not do enough. That is the answer”, concluded a blunt Sebastian Vettel .
