The German Aston Martin driver Sebastian Vettel assured that he will not participate in the Russian Grand Prix, the seventeenth round of the Formula One World Championship that will take place from September 23 to 25, due to the war that has broken out in Ukraine.
At the press conference this Thursday, coinciding with the second day of the training sessions held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalonia, the four times world champion confirmed that he will not attend the test to be held at the Sochi circuit.
“After the news this morning I woke up in shock. I think it’s horrible to see what’s going on. If you look at the calendar, we have a scheduled race in Russia. In my opinion, I think I should not go; I will not go to the Russian GP. I think it’s wrong to race in that country,” he noted.
Vettel sent his condolences to the “innocent people dying for stupid reasons” and criticized the decision of Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he said is carrying out a “very strange and crazy leadership.”
“I’m shocked to see something so sad. We’ll see, but My decision is already made.” added the German pilot.
In the same vein, the Dutchman from Red Bull Max Verstappen referred, who said that “When a country is at war it is not right to run there.”
For his part, the Spaniard Fernando Alonso pointed out that the decision “will be from Formula One”, although he pointed out: “We riders have an opinion that I’m sure is the same as everyone else’s”.
