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British television broadcast featured Vettel, the F1 world champion and four-time winner. Question TimeThursday night will be a discussion of a variety of current global and political issues, with a strong emphasis on the energy crisis.
Vettel has been an important voice in motorsport over the past years regarding climate issues facing the world and other important social-political matters, such as LGBTQ+ rights or the ongoing war in Ukraine.
During the show, Vettel stressed the importance of countries not being dependent on sole energy supplies, citing Germany’s reliance on Russian energy and the position in which it leaves his home country since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.
When the host of the show pointed out to Vettel that he drove in a “gas-guzzling” sport, it was met with some laughter from the audience.
Asked if racing in F1 made him a hypocrite when it came to highlighting the need to save energy, Vettel replied: “It does, and you’re right when you laugh, because there are questions that I ask myself every day.
“I’m not a saint. I’m very concerned when it comes to the future, so these topics when it comes to energy, energy dependence and where we’re going in the future.”
Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin AMR22
Photo by Jerry Andre Motorsport Images
Vettel added that it was “something that I’m asking myself” whether he should be racing in F1 and “travelling the world”.
“There are certain things that are in my control, and certain things are not,” Vettel said. “It’s my passion to drive a car, and I love it. It’s a passion that I feel every time I get in the car.
“When I get out of the car, of course I’m thinking as well, is this something we should do? Travel the world, wasting resources?”
But Vettel also highlighted the importance of F1 as a source of entertainment, believing that people “would probably go mad” without things to enjoy.
“There’s a lot of questions that I ask myself,” Vettel said. “There’s a lot of things that I do because I feel I can do them better.
“Do I need to take a plane every time? When I can drive the car, no. There’s certain things in my control and certain things outside my control.”
Vettel was joined by Suella Brverman, Conservative MP and attorney General, Labour MP Shabana Mahamood and Miatta Fahnbulleh (comedian), on the Question Time panel.
Helmet for Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin
Photo by JMD Jens Munser Designs
The quintet responded to questions from the audience on a number of topics including the cost-of-living crisis, the Northern Ireland protocol from the Brexit agreement, Finland’s application to NATO and the ‘Partygate’ scandal that engulfed British prime minister Boris Johnson.
Vettel stressed the need to address the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and said that the UK government must deal with the consequences of pushing for the Brexit agreement.
Relating to Partygate and Johnson’s breaking of the law during lockdown, Vettel said: “I think that when you are in that position, there’s certain things that you just can’t pull off.
“In the end, it is the prime minister who made the law and then breaks the law. I’m just thinking, if I’m a father of three kids and I’m trying to explain something to them that I think is really important on how to behave, and I do the exact opposite, what do you think they would make of it? I’m the least credible person in front of them then.
“We all do mistakes, we’re all human. But there’s just certain things that I think come with office or that job that you can’t do.”
