Heppenheim: Four-time Formula One winner Sebastian Vettel has decided that he would not compete in the Russian Grand Prix in September, after Russia’s wide-ranging invasion on Ukraine earlier Thursday, which included airstrikes and shelling of cities and bases.
“I woke up to this morning’s news shocked. I think it’s horrible to see what is happening. Obviously, if you look at the calendar we have a race scheduled in Russia (on September 25),” Vettel said Thursday at preseason testing in Barcelona.
“I’m sure it’s something we’ll talk about,” the Aston Martin driver said. “But personally I’m shocked and sad to see what’s going on, so we will see going forward but I think my decision is already made.”
“I think when a country is at war it’s not correct to race there, that’s for sure,” Verstappen said. “But it’s not only what I think, it’s the whole paddock (that is) going to decide what we are going to do next,” the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association head concluded.
Ukraine’s government had said Russian tanks and personnel went across the border after President Vladimir Putin proudly stated he was initiating a military campaign.
