Formula 1 and the motorsport world must do more to become more sustainable or risk being banned, Sebastian Vettel has warned.
The German retired from the sport last year with a remarkable sporting legacy of four world titles in a row as well as 53 race victories overall. In recent years, he also made a mark through the use of his platform to campaign for greater measures to protect the environment.
Last weekend, in his first racing appearance since ending his F1 career, Vettel took part in the Race of Champions. The annual event was held, for the second time, on a snow and ice track in northern Sweden, just 60km south of the Arctic Circle.
Several different vehicles are used across the Nations Cup and the Race of Champions itself, all of which were either electric-powered or used 100% sustainable biofuels.
As far as motorsport events go, the ROC has one of the smallest carbon footprints. Other series, including F1, have been taking steps to reduce their impact upon the environment, but Vettel feels more must be done, or motorsport will risk being banned globally.
"I love motorsport and I’m very careful when it comes to the future," he told Corriere dello Sport in Sweden. "We have young drivers, and I have children, and I think it's really a privilege to experience the world of motorsports as I have.
"It would be a shame if this were one day banned for obvious reasons. I think that for the future, if we want to continue practicing this sport and cultivate our passion for racing, we have to think of alternatives.
"Or we can continue to do things as we are used to for another couple of years before we end up with a really big problem. So it's good to see that people are caring about that. Of course it depends on the type of racing, but the movement exists, people are considering how to create a sustainable future.
"[The ROC] is a great event, a lot of fun, and we are all enjoying the moment. It is also very nice to see [the event's president] Frederik Johnson and all his team thinking about how to have fun responsibly, talking not only about different machines, but also everything related to the organisation of the event itself."
