F1 is taking a step towards a carbon-neutral future, but the expansion and timing of next season’s biggest calendar has led some to question whether it is doing enough to turn things around.
Having previously promised to consolidate races regionally to avoid unnecessary travel, the current calendar scheduled for 2023 has proven to be not much different from how things have been done in the past.
The gaps between some races – including the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian GPs – and some dodgy back-to-backs like Azerbaijan and Miami, seem to do little to reduce unnecessary travel and limit the carbon footprint of the F1.
Vettel, who has pushed environmental issues hard in recent years, believes F1 needs to act rather than just have slogans on a poster.
And he thinks the best way to achieve this transparently would be for F1 to sign up for scrutiny by an independent body to ensure it is doing all it can when it comes to sustainability.
“I think big organizations, whether it’s business or sporting events, probably have to dare to take a step to find an organization to control them,” Vettel said ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix.
“And if they don’t respect the limits that they have imposed, then [they] deal with the consequences.
“I think otherwise we can put it all on a poster and a piece of paper, and it all sounds good, but if it doesn’t happen, so what?
“The nations decide to sign an agreement to limit [the world] at 1.5 degrees of global warming, but if we don’t, what will be the consequences?
“There are systems in place, but nations can still go out whenever they want, in a certain way.
Sebastien Vettel, Aston Martin
Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
“So I think the real transparent way would be [for F1] find a body to monitor them, an external and independent body, to monitor whether or not they achieve their objectives. I think that’s the only credible way to do it.”
While Vettel will not feature in F1 next year, after announcing his retirement he questioned some of the scheduling decisions that have been made, notably at the start of the campaign with the scheduling of the pre-season test. from Bahrain, the first race there. the following weekend then the Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia a fortnight later.
Vettel added: “There is more interest in F1: there are more chances to win money and everything is fair and valid. But obviously if you look at the first three races then the winnings easy would be to save on travel and flights.
“Everyone will go there [to the Middle East] and come back three weeks in a row, which is fair, because everyone has a family and a life wherever they are.
“You can’t expect people to be out for eight weeks at the start of the season, for example.
“But if you ask me how to solve [the problem]I think that [the independent body idea] will probably be the most serious, or one of the most serious.”
F1 is taking a step towards a carbon-neutral future, but the expansion and timing of next season’s biggest calendar has led some to question whether it is doing enough to turn things around.
Having previously promised to consolidate races regionally to avoid unnecessary travel, the current calendar scheduled for 2023 has proven to be not much different from how things have been done in the past.
The gaps between some races – including the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian GPs – and some dodgy back-to-backs like Azerbaijan and Miami, seem to do little to reduce unnecessary travel and limit the carbon footprint of the F1.
Vettel, who has pushed environmental issues hard in recent years, believes F1 needs to act rather than just have slogans on a poster.
And he thinks the best way to achieve this transparently would be for F1 to sign up for scrutiny by an independent body to ensure it is doing all it can when it comes to sustainability.
“I think big organizations, whether it’s business or sporting events, probably have to dare to take a step to find an organization to control them,” Vettel said ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix.
“And if they don’t respect the limits that they have imposed, then [they] deal with the consequences.
“I think otherwise we can put it all on a poster and a piece of paper, and it all sounds good, but if it doesn’t happen, so what?
“The nations decide to sign an agreement to limit [the world] at 1.5 degrees of global warming, but if we don’t, what will be the consequences?
“There are systems in place, but nations can still go out whenever they want, in a certain way.
Sebastien Vettel, Aston Martin
Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
“So I think the real transparent way would be [for F1] find a body to monitor them, an external and independent body, to monitor whether or not they achieve their objectives. I think that’s the only credible way to do it.”
While Vettel will not feature in F1 next year, after announcing his retirement he questioned some of the scheduling decisions that have been made, notably at the start of the campaign with the scheduling of the pre-season test. from Bahrain, the first race there. the following weekend then the Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia a fortnight later.
Vettel added: “There is more interest in F1: there are more chances to win money and everything is fair and valid. But obviously if you look at the first three races then the winnings easy would be to save on travel and flights.
“Everyone will go there [to the Middle East] and come back three weeks in a row, which is fair, because everyone has a family and a life wherever they are.
“You can’t expect people to be out for eight weeks at the start of the season, for example.
“But if you ask me how to solve [the problem]I think that [the independent body idea] will probably be the most serious, or one of the most serious.”