Sebastian Vettel has revealed that he spoke with Max Verstappen before the Dutchman took his winning record, telling Verstappen he is ‘better’ than him. The German, who won four world titles with Red Bull, believes that Max Verstappen will add more championships to his tally. At just 27 years old, Verstappen has already cemented his place among the sport’s greats—how many more titles could be in his future?
Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel believes that the 2025 world title will be a hard-fought battle. With McLaren currently the fastest team, the German believes that Lando Norris and Max Verstappen are the favourites in the early stages.
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.
“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.
“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.”
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As the drivers touch down in Melbourne and the teams get unpacked, more Formula 1 news is announced. Just like Oscar Piastri’s contract extension yesterday, another team made an exciting announcement. Sky Sports will continue their F1 coverage this year and they have released their 2025 lineup. Speaking of lineup and champions, Sebastian Vettel has words for Lewis Hamilton.
Sebastian Vettel knows how special it is to drive for Ferrari, the glamour, the fanfare, the love of the tifosi and the powerful racing history the team boasts. However, he also knows the other end of the spectrum, thanks to one man in particular, Charles Leclerc. Ahead of the F1 2025 season opener, the Australian Grand Prix, the German has given the Scuderia’s new driver, Lewis Hamilton, a heads-up in that regard.
In only three days, Lewis Hamilton will drive in his first grand prix for Ferrari. Historically, both Ferrari and Hamilton have performed well in Australia separately. On pre-season day three, Hamilton talked about his adjustment period in Ferrari and about their next moves.
The Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, which represents Formula 1 drivers to the FIA and FOM, has selected a new director to replace Sebastian Vettel.
The four-times world champion retired from F1 at the end of 2022. The GPDA has now chosen Carlos Sainz Jnr, the same driver who replaced Vettel at Ferrari in 2021, as one of its directors.
The 30-year-old, who is the fourth-oldest driver in F1 today, will work alongside fellow director George Russell, who has been in his position since 2021.
“I am passionate about my sport and think we drivers have a responsibility to do all we can to work with the stakeholders to forward the sport in many aspects,” said Sainz in a statement. “So I’m very happy and proud to do my part by taking on the director’s role in the GPDA.”
The GPDA is also staffed by lawyer Anastasia Fowle and its chair, former driver Alexander Wurz. He said Sainz “has been an active and engaged member of the GPDA for several years and we sincerely appreciate his commitment in stepping up to this vital role.”
The drivers’ association has been at odds with the FIA lately over the governing body’s attempts to censure them for swearing. In November last year it issued a statement which criticised FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, pointing out it has “on countless occasions, expressed its view that driver monetary fines are not appropriate for our sport.”
However the FIA shows no signs of revising its position. Last month it issued new guidelines defining an escalating series of fines for drivers in all categories who commit acts of “misconduct” such as swearing, and even threatening them with race bans and points deductions for repeated offences.
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Ben Sulayem insists he has a constructive relationship with F1 drivers, saying recently he treats them “like my sons and daughters” and is “the most accessible president ever.”
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Having presented the livery the team has chosen to race in 2025, and done this year’s car shakedown at Fiorano, there’s little else for Lewis Hamilton to do prior to his first Grand Prix as a Ferrari driver, barring, of course, winter testing at Bahrain in just under a weeks time. The Italian press, however, have already started putting the pressure on the Briton ahead of his debut with the Scuderia.
The annual Race of Champions is scheduled for 8 and 9 of March, a week before the Australian Grand Prix. Many big names from Formula 1 will make an appearance at the event.
After the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel quit Formula 1. It has now been two full seasons since the four-time world champion has driven a race. Rumours of a comeback have been around from time to time, although these usually involve an entry into endurance racing.
