Sebastian Vettel Has Another Goal: A Better World

“We cannot just go there, do our show, and then leave everything else behind. To ensure that nothing is left behind, we need to be ready to take a little bit of our margin off and invest into those things because they do come at a cost.”

Stefano Domenicali, the chief executive of Formula 1, said sustainability was important to the sport, which by 2025 wants to reuse, recycle or compost all waste from races and by 2030 have a net-zero carbon footprint from when a team leaves its factory to its return.

“We are doing our part, even if we give the wrong impression and we pass as the one who pollute the world,” he said. “We must be an example and offer guidelines for the future.”

Otmar Szafnauer, the team principal of Aston Martin, said Vettel was leading by example.

“We applaud Sebastian in making people aware,” Szafnauer said. “He spent a few hours after the Silverstone race picking up litter, and he did that not just for publicity reasons, but because he genuinely wants to help.

“I know it’s a small thing, but the way he looks at it is, ‘If I can do it, if everybody does it, we’ll be in a better place.’”

Vettel said there was “a way bigger picture.”

“First, you should have an incentive so that people don’t litter as much and they take back their drinks, cups, bottles or whatever it is, and second, maybe we don’t need to produce as many cups, bottles, etc.,” he said. “We can find alternative forms, and third, with whatever gets left behind, make sure it’s compostable so it doesn’t do any harm.”