For a long time, one of the laziest tropes in Formula One was that Sebastian Vettel was a man devoid of personality.
In his days at Red Bull, where he became a four-time champion, universally he was scored. Boring, some said. Lacks a sense of humour, others barked.
The reality couldn’t have been further from the truth – and now many of those cynics have become his biggest fans.
For Vettel is a complex character, a shunner of mobile phones and social media, an activist first, driver second, with the platform he has built for himself in the sport of F1.
Fighting for women’s rights, speaking out on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community in countries where they don’t have a voice, leading the calls to tackle climate change, giving up days off to help the preservation of bees, and putting pressure on the sport to cut ties with Russia following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine are just some the examples one can lean on.
This week, for example, he revealed a Ukraine-inspired helmet which included the lyrics to ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon. A small gesture that will be seen across the world during pre-season testing in Bahrain. That’s the real Sebastian Vettel.
Sebastian Vettel is an activist within F1 fighting on various fronts to make the world a better place – such as backing women’s rights and speaking out on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community
Perception is a word that gets chucked around the paddock when the question is asked about Vettel.
Red Bull, who ended their championship wait with Max Verstappen last season, still hold their time together dear in their hearts. Ferrari, while that was not the success it was at Red Bull, speak highly of his affable nature and his work off the track.
Perhaps, at Aston Martin at the age of 34 with no realistic avenue to a world championship title, he simply feels relaxed, content with the imprint he is leaving on the sport.
On a grid that is becoming younger and younger – 11 of the other 19 drivers are 25 or under this season – Vettel takes seriously his role as an elder statesman and as a voice for the voiceless.
‘I think everyone has an attitude. The question is whether everyone always dares to share the attitude,’ Vettel said following the helmet reveal.
‘I’m not shy about that, quite the opposite. I think there are certain topics where you can’t remain silent.
‘It’s a strange feeling to even get out of bed when you start the day with the news, to motivate yourself when you know exactly that there are things that are much more important.’
Vettel wants to win, of course. He’s a hard-nosed racer that wouldn’t be putting himself in harm’s way if he didn’t. But the last line is the embodiment of why he is seen in the F1 cognoscenti as the ‘people’s champion’.
‘There are things that are much more important,’ he said. And there are. War. Climate change. Racism. Homophobia. Deforestation. Water pollution. The list goes on.
Vettel’s helmet, designed by Jens Munser, displays the words ‘No War’ and has a peace sign
The lyrics to John Lennon’s popular anti-war song Imagine are inscribed on the top (shown left)
‘In younger years you don’t necessarily not see these things but you just grow up and mature and see more things and become more and more aware of certain things that are going on in the world,’ Vettel told The Race last year.
‘The disappointing thing for me is that we have had so many shortcomings, so many examples of things we did in a bad way yet we are so, so slow – in F1 terms – to apply change. It’s like doing the same mistake over and over again.
‘In F1 you do it wrong and you can just lose some points and not win the championship. What does it matter?
‘But in the real world, we are hurting people, not taking care of people and it has a huge impact on their lives. Not just a result or points in a championship, but their chances going forwards in life. It’s a feeling of injustice and this feeling is not right and I’m happy to speak up on it.’
As a midfield marker that typically finds himself behind Mercedes, Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari, Vettel’s races rarely often garner the big headlines.
A witty remark here or there on his radio may get a mention but it is his activism that sends the German viral.
Take the British Grand Prix last year. While Verstappen was being checked over in hospital, Lewis Hamilton was toasting a win at home and both Red Bull and Mercedes were at each other’s throat, Vettel swapped a steering wheel for a refuse bag and was out in the grandstand picking up litter.
Imagine 350,000-plus fans at Silverstone and the rubbish that would be cultivated.
Environmentally-conscious Vettel wore a t-shirt before the British Grand Prix last season, which read, ‘Please don’t litter – keep it clean’
Mask on. Gloves on. Get to work. And Vettel did not seek out the cameras, a ploy for some easy PR. Quite the contrary.
As a fan captured him on video running up and down the grandstand steps ferrying waste bags to and fro, Vettel was in no mood to stop and say hello. A job was being done.
With 15 other volunteers he collected empty bottles, floating crisp packets, leftover programmes and passes and did so until the job was done.
Twenty-four hours later he was down at Grundon Waste Management’s Colnbrook facility with a hard hat on to find out more about the company he helped at Silverstone. It was a testament. Nobody made him go but he did.
‘It was important for me to understand what happens to the litter during the next stage. That is why I visited Grundon in Slough,’ he said.
‘This was an opportunity to see first-hand what happens to all the waste we produce. Collecting the litter taught me a few things and reminded me how important it is to reduce waste in general.
‘We can all make small changes and do our bit, such as using a refillable bottle or buying products wrapped in compostable packaging rather than plastic.’
Huge bags of rubbish are pictured following Vettel’s and other volunteers’ efforts to clean up
Two weeks later the season rolled round to the famous Hungaroring, on the outskirts of Budapest.
Again, Vettel saw the bigger picture for what would be a four-day stayover before the summer break.
F1 is entertainment but it is also highly political and brings great influence.
In the build-up to the Grand Prix, Hungary held a referendum on a law which included a ban on the depiction or promotion of homosexuality and gender change to under-18s.
‘I find it embarrassing for a country in the EU to vote on laws like this,’ Vettel said.
Hamilton called it ‘cowardly’. And no doubt the younger drivers on the grid found it equally reprehensible, even if they didn’t put their heads above the parapet.
And so Vettel set his plan in motion.
First he wore trainers with a rainbow design on them to the track for Thursday’s media day which presented an awkward situation for organisers.
Race day proved even more uncomfortable for them when Vettel wore a rainbow shirt reading ‘SAME LOVE’ to the grid, while also kneeling in support of the fight against racism.
In one moment, Vettel, who was later called to the stewards’ room for his actions, showed all of his class. To many he had shown that for years he was misunderstood.
Lewis Hamilton took to Instagram to support Aston Martin’s Vettel, who wore a shirt reading ‘same love’ in support of the LGBTQ+ community at the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2021
‘I wasn’t nervous or embarrassed by the rainbow colours, or of what people think,’ Vettel told the BBC’s LGBT Sport Podcast a month after Hungary.
‘I wanted to send a message, and I was very proud to do it.’
For Matt Bishop, Aston Martin’s chief communications officer and founder-ambassador of the Racing Pride group, Vettel’s defiance meant a considerable amount, even if the German was ‘surprised’ by the praise that came his way.
There was also the small matter of helping a Hungarian fan propose to his girlfriend – if Vettel didn’t have enough on his dashboard to sort.
Daniel Koronczi, a fan of Vettel, dropped the Aston Martin star a note after bumping into him in Hungary earlier this week. A totally memorable moment for Koronczi and one that had Vettel forgotten, it would have been totally understandable.
The note was an invitation containing details of his plan to propose to girlfriend Veronika Matyo outside the Hungaroring race track on the Thursday, with Daniel asking Vettel if he could attend.
After an anxious wait for Vettel outside the race track, Daniel decided to soldier on and pop the question to Veronika without the German present.
Veronika said yes and, moments later, Vettel arrived on the scene on his electric scooter with a handwritten note. The German joked: ‘Wasn’t it about half seven?’ to the delighted couple, overwhelmed with emotion after coming face-to-face with the decorated racing driver.
Vettel (left) also played cupid as the F1 driver was on hand for a couple’s special moment
Hungarian couple Daniel and Viktoria got engaged near the Hungaroring race track in 2021
It was comic timing, and proof he had remembered. An ally as well as a hopeless romantic. Those are the moments that stand the test of time greater than the disqualification he suffered for failing to provide a sufficient fuel sample.
While he has one of the funniest humours in the paddock, and his comedic timing in that instance is no one off, he takes his platform seriously and rarely ever hesitates to use it as a force for good and rarely has his voice been as powerful as it was in putting pressure on Formula 1 to axe the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi.
Soon after an F1 statement refused to commit on making a decision over the race, Vettel took matters into his own hands.
‘I think it’s horrible to see what is happening. Obviously if you look at the calendar, we have a race scheduled in Russia,’ he said.
‘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 people, innocent people who are losing their lives, getting killed for stupid reasons under a very strange and mad leadership.’
He added days later, following news that F1 had agreed to cease ties and cancel the GP: ‘Values and morals should come before everything else. Business is not important at all in that respect.’
And the stories and the goodwill Vettel generates can be endless.
Vettel was also the first F1 driver to speak out against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last month
Russian president Vladimir Putin declared war on Ukraine and Vettel spoke out against it
On his blog he detailed one particular visit to Climeworks Orca in Iceland while another entry explains how he worked with school children in Austria to build a sustainable hotel for bees.
So no, he may not add to his four world championship titles, he may not win another race in the sport before he hangs up his helmet.
But what Vettel is doing is hold people to account and provide a voice for the voiceless, which makes him the best in class.
The People’s Champion, then.
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