With his days in Formula 1 numbered, Sebastian Vettel has begun to explore life outside of the championship and has found a passion for politics.
The German driver has taken it upon himself to become an activist, focusing on political, social and environmental matters.
The four-time World Champion is regularly seen wearing a t-shirt or special helmet in support of a various campaign, something Sir Lewis Hamilton also does on a regular basis.
Incredibly, prior to the Spanish Grand Prix, Vettel appeared as a special guest on BBC political show ‘Question Time’.
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The Aston Martin driver was praised for the way he conducted himself and represented the sport, with the German driver being completely honest that F1 needs to do more to support the environment.
Vettel has most notably been a huge supporter and ally to the LGBTQ+ community, and even became the first-ever F1 driver to feature on the front cover of the best selling gay magazine ‘Attitude’.
He featured on the front cover of the June edition of the magazine, in support of Pride month.
All his heroic work, however, has come with some negativism towards him.
Bernie Ecclestone whilst talking to German broadcaster RTL, questioned whether Vettel cared about F1 anymore.
The former F1 CEO does believe the German is correct with regards to the sport needing to change, but also thinks the four-time World Champion is using his position as a driver wrongly.
“He’s not that focused,” Ecclestone, 91, said in an interview.
“Before, when he was winning races, he didn’t know what was going on in the world and didn’t care. Now he cares and he thinks about the future of the world.
“I think he’s right, but I don’t think he should use his position for that reason.”
Vettel hasn’t let his off-track actions affect his on-track performances, with the German having had some good results this season in a challenging AMR22.
Ecclestone continued to explain that he’d love to see Vettel back at Red Bull, where he won four consecutive titles.
“It’s about all the other things behind him that don’t make it easy to get back to who he was,” he said, referring to Vettel’s era of consistent victories and podiums.
“I would like to see him in the other car with Max Verstappen. It would be good for him too,” he said.
The 91-year-old is confident though that Vettel will still be at Aston Martin for the foreseeable future.
“Well, I think they are happy to have him on the team,” he said.
“Everyone is happy with him. It’s more about whether he has decided to be a politician or a Formula 1 driver.”