Sebastian Vettel finally undertook his run in Goodwood Festival of Speed on Sunday after his run was cancelled for Saturday.
Sebastian Vettel is a champion in every sense. Literally of course, of Formula 1, four times over. Of racing, past and present, and of climate awareness and emissions reduction. The latter is a cause you might imagine to be opposed to the former, racing cars are famously noisy and smelly; old racing cars are noisier and smellier. What Vettel is dedicated to showing the world, however, is that we can have our cake and eat it too. He’s here at the 2023 Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard, to celebrate his career, to drive incredible cars and to show us how we can keep the cars and racing we love alive, while looking after our planet – to Race without Trace.
That’s the name of his initiative, “to demonstrate to people that you can literally race without leaving a trace,” said Vettel to Ed Foster, after his run up our Hill in his Williams FW14B, the 1992 Nigel Mansell championship winner running here this weekend on renewable fuels.
“We use e-fuels in an old car, which was not designed for them but it only takes a small adjustment. We use them in old cars, we use them in new F1 cars, we can use them in your road car. It’s just to show that there is an alternative. The world is changing but we don’t have to give up on these things, we can enjoy them in a more responsible way.”
He said that with a mischievous crook in his signature ear-to-ear smile, for good reason. What is a highly significant car is also notoriously fragile but Seb gave a gift to us and the loving Festival of Speed crowd: smokey CO2-free donuts soundtracked by that incredible Renault V10 engine, revving up to over 11,000rpm.
If this is enjoyment in a more responsible way, we’re one hundred per cent here for it. As of our writing, he’s yet to have his run up the Hill in Ayrton Senna’s 1993 McLaren – another addition to his personal collection – and we surely hope he puts on as much of a show again.
Sebastian Vettel’s time at the 2023 Festival of Speed has been special, with him reuniting with old friends and old foes. Jenson Button recently drove Vettel’s Williams around Silverstone and indeed, the two were caught comparing notes on ‘Red 5’. We love Seb, we love his message – we’re holding a race for Porsche 911s running on sustainable fuels at Revival – and we’ve loved having him here. A modern-day great of our sport.
[Note: The story is as per press release]
