Vettel worries: 'Soon we will have a very big problem'

Sebastian Vettel has issued a warning to the entire motorsport world. In an interview with Corriere dello Sport the former Formula 1 driver warned that if things continue like this, motorsport could yet be banned due to the sport's impact on the environment.

Vettel left Formula 1 at the end of 2022 after a long and illustrious career. Plans for the future have not been made concrete by the German, but clearly his racing heart is still beating. Indeed, he recently took his seat alongside Mick Schumacher at the Race of Champions in Sweden.

It was at this Race of Champions that Vettel expressed his concerns for the future of racing. "I love motorsport and I am very cautious when it comes to the future. We have young drivers, I have children of my own, and I really feel it is a privilege to experience the world of motorsport the way I did. It would be a shame if one day it were banned, for obvious reasons."

'We need to think of alternatives'

What these obvious reasons might be Vettel does not say, but given his past, it is not hard to reason that Vettel is referring to climate change. The German has regularly used his platform to encourage the world of motorsport to do more to become more climate-conscious. For example, he has regularly criticised Formula 1's CO2 targets and said that the sport is not changing fast enough with the rest of the world. So it seems logical that Vettel is referring to that again now.

"I think that if we want to continue this sport in the future and cultivate our passion for racing, we have to think of alternatives," Vettel added. "Otherwise we can keep doing things the way we are used to for a few more years before we are left with a very big problem. So it's good to see people thinking about how to create a sustainable future."