Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen have said it would be wrong for the Russian Grand Prix to go ahead, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the early hours of today. Formula 1 has currently said that it is “closely watching the very fluid developments” with regards to the war but has not indicated it’s considering a cancellation.
Yesterday Russian driver and all-around heel Nikita Mazepin said that despite sanctions applied to Russia by the U.S., E.U. and U.K., following the movement of troops into Donbas, F1 had indicated to him that the race would still go ahead. Overnight, as the situation developed, there seems to have been a significant shift including Russian-backed Haas team boss Günther Steiner pulling out of a scheduled team principal press conference during the lunch break in testing today.
During the drivers’ conference, Sebastian Vettel was asked, as a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association—a sort of union for F1 drivers—what his opinion was on the issue. He said, “As GPDA we haven’t spoken on the subject so I can’t speak on behalf of GPDA but in my personal opinion, obviously I woke up to this morning’s news shocked. I don’t know, I think it’s horrible to see what is happening. Obviously, if you look at the calendar, we have a race scheduled in Russia.
“For myself, my own opinion is I should not go, I will not go. I think it’s wrong to race in that country. I’m sorry for the innocent people that are losing their lives, getting killed for stupid reasons. A very, very strange and mad leadership.
“I’m sure there’s something we will talk about but as I said on behalf of the GPDA we haven’t come together yet,” Vettel added. “But personally I’m so shocked and sad to see what’s going on. We will see going forward but I think my decision is already made.”
Current F1 drivers’ champion and occasional subject of UN complaints about international incidents Max Verstappen supported Vettel’s view.
“I think when a country is at war it’s not correct to race there, that’s for sure,” Verstappen told the press. “But it’s not only what I think, the whole paddock is going to decide what we’re going to do next.”
At present, the Sochi race remains scheduled for Sept. 23-25 on the F1 calendar.
Got a story tip? Mail it in on [email protected]
RELATED
F1 Will Soak Barcelona Track With Truckloads of Water for Unusual Wet Tire Test
Unless it rains earlier, F1 is gonna have to get the track wet for testing somehow.READ NOW
RELATED
Russia's Frightening Multi-Prong Invasion Of Ukraine Has Only Just Begun (Updated)
After Russia's initial cruise missile barrage and the beginning of a multi-vector ground assault, the war for Ukraine is just in its beginning stage.READ NOW
RELATED
How Mercedes F1 Fluid Engineers Analyze Oil to Predict Problems
Sand, heat, late nights, early mornings, shipping containers, and lots of fluid samples—it's not all glamour in F1.READ NOW
Source: Read Full Article