My only regret is not speaking out earlier in my F1 career · RaceFans

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Four-times Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel says he regrets not being more vocal about equality, climate change and other social issues which concern him earlier in his career.

Vettel raced in F1 between 2007 and 2022. Over his final two seasons he became more outspoken on issues such as the under-representation of women in motor racing, gay rights and the environment.

After winning his four world championships with Red Bull, Vettel spent six years at Ferrari before ending his career at Aston Martin. Over his final two years in F1 Vettel drew attention to the issues which concerned him through his choices of helmet designs and apparel.

He admitted it “wasn’t the plan” to begin advocating different causes. “When I started as a rookie, I was solely focused on racing and it was the only thing that was occupying my day, really,” Vettel told the BBC.

Vettel ran an all-girls karting event in Saudi Arabia in 2021

“But towards the last couple of years, I think it’s probably one of the things, maybe the only thing that I would say I regret, is not to speak out earlier in my career and seeing the potential power in terms of reach and audience that you might have as a professional athlete to inspire people.

“Since then [I’ve been] trying to spread messages that are important to me.”

In 2021, when F1 first visited Saudi Arabia, Vettel ran an all-female karting event in Jeddah. Women in Saudi Arabia face strict limits on their rights and require the permission of men to do many things. The government did not permit them to hold driving licences until 2018.

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Vettel is working on another project in Saudi Arabia. “I’ve been there in 2021 launching the ‘Race for Women’ event which was mostly about taking young girls and women to the track and giving them a glimpse of racing in go-karts and we had a fun day and that’s the story we’re trying to continue to tell.

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“It’s always difficult with these things how much impact you might have. Certainly we had a lot of impact on all these girls and gave them a lot of courage for the future to speak out in a country that is changing and evolving and things are improving. So the intention really is to go back and continue once we’ve sort of planted the seeds and give those girls and women a little bit of a voice.”

He said he is keen to see more women get into motorsport. “When I did go-karts in Europe I raced girls but it was very rare,” he explained. “The more girls we have participating and less of these stereotypes that girls can’t race, I think it’s positive, it’s good evolution.

“It is important in Europe but it’s even more important I think in a place like Saudi where you can feel things are opening up, maybe not with the speed we all wish or some people expect but there are steps. It’s great to see these girls get a chance to get behind the wheel.

“It’s about spreading the message and keeping planting the seeds, inspire those girls and young women. But inspiring people around the world as well with the platform that I have.”

Now in the third year of his retirement from F1, Vettel said he’s keen to see his former championship rival Lewis Hamilton succeed at Ferrari. Vettel was unable to win a title at the Scuderia, which he admitted was partly “because Lewis was there” at Mercedes.

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“Let’s see now how he will get on. But my fingers are crossed, obviously, I’ve raced him a long time, we get along really well, and he’s by far the most outspoken driver on the grid at the minute.

“His on-track skills don’t need to be repeated, I think the numbers and statistics speak for themselves. But it’s great to see that he’s still on the grid and he still has that influence and uses it in a positive manner. So naturally my fingers are crossed for him to win the championship.

“But also Charles [Leclerc] is there, I raced with him, so I think it’s a strong line-up. In the end it takes a lot of things to come together, to be there in the last couple of races to fight for the championship.”