F1 News
Vettel critical of new rules: "Engine is super-efficient, but it's useless"
- GPblog.com
Sebastian Vettel has recently gone 'green' and explicitly says so. That he still drives in Formula 1, seems difficult to combine. The four-times world champion understands the scepticism and does not shy away from a conversation about it.
Vettel prepares for criticism
For example The-Race.com asks the Aston Martin driver if he is ready for the criticism he might get for his stance on a climate-neutral world, while still active in Formula 1. Vettel certainly is. The German agrees that the combination is not obvious, because Formula 1 is not green yet. Vettel admits that there are plenty of innovations and opportunities in Formula 1 to make the sport a lot greener without compromising on the spectacle on track.
With the new regulations, Formula 1 is again trying to take climate and nature into account. Vettel calls the new regulations promising, but places a big caveat: "The engine is super-efficient, but it’s useless." After all, the new engine does not contribute to the production of engines that could possibly be used on the road, the Heppenheimer knows.
F1 must remain relevant to the automotive industry
Vettel wonders aloud what the relevance of such an engine is, then. At the moment, people are looking at ways to make the technology created and developed in F1 more relevant for improving the car industry. Vettel says it's a good thing, but he's not optimistic if it doesn't happen soon.
If F1 doesn't speed up, the sport will even disappear according to the driver. Vettel concludes: "We are at the point where we know we made mistakes. There is no more time to keep making mistakes." Vettel himself does not come up with a good answer yet; that also proves to be difficult. The driver emphasises that F1 at least has the capacity to do more for the environment.