“I think we see a really decisive change,” Grand Prix Drivers Association (GPDA) president Alex Wurz told Reuters as Vettel recently appeared on a British television panel show with politicians. “Four or five years ago no one wanted to engage in a conversation about racism, sustainability, human rights and any of the major topics like that.” Sport is political now, it is not neutral. It is impossible to be neutral,” said the Austrian, a former driver for Benetton, McLaren and Williams.
“And they (the drivers) have learned in a very short period of time to really take responsibility and represent the values that we all want to see.” Four-time world champion, Vettel discussed topics ranging from the war in Ukraine to Brexit and energy dependence when he appeared on “Question Time”.
The Aston Martin driver says climate change has made him question his job of traveling around the world racing cars. He told about his thinking at the Spanish Grand Prix on Friday. “I often get the question ‘Why is this important to you?’,” he said. “It’s not important to me, it’s important to all of us.” How can you ignore that? … you no longer have that luxury, for not caring. Because, you know, that’s the basis of everything we do.
“I think it’s up to all of us to think about what we can do to drive change to raise awareness.” Wurz said Hamilton, as the seven-time world champion and the sport’s only black driver, was a “fantastic accelerator” of change. The Mercedes driver, with over 28 million Instagram followers, has used her platform to promote fashion and shine a light on LGBTQ+ issues and rights abuses in the sport’s touring countries. Hamilton and other drivers took a knee before races in 2020 and 2021 as part of the sport’s “We Race as One” anti-racism initiative, although that “grid moment” has now been dropped. Norris, 22, and with 5.3 million Instagram followers, has been open about her mental health battles and the pressure she experienced as a rookie.
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