Sebastian Vettel claims climate change is forcing him to consider retiring from F1 despite travelling world on jets

SEBASTIAN VETTEL says climate change is forcing him to reconsider his role as an F1 driver.

The four-time world champion was speaking as a guest on BBC Question Time where he was asked about his environmental campaigning.

Vettel was quizzed if racing in "gas guzzling" F1 was at odds with his values and made him a hypocrite, to which the German gave a revealing answer.

The 34-year-old, who currently drives for Aston Martin, said: "It does, it does, and you're right when you laugh.

"There's questions I ask myself every day and I'm not a saint and I am very concerned when it comes to the future and these topics on energy.

"It's something that I'm asking myself [being in F1] and travelling the world.

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"There's certain things that are in my control, and certain things are not.

"It is my passion to drive the car and I love it. But when I get out of the car, of course I'm thinking as well 'Is this something that we should do, travel the world, wasting resources?'"

Vettel took an internship during lockdown in bio-farming and has taken part in a number of initiatives to support the environment.

And on the BBC show he also spoke about how governments should be switching to cleaner energy.

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He added: "We need to stop being dependent [on fossil fuels], and we can, because there are solutions in place.

"You know, in Britain, you have this sort of goldmine you're sitting on, which is wind, and you have the ability to increase your energy supply with wind power, solar.

"Every country has its strengths and weaknesses.

"If you go to Austria, they have the Alps and they have water, they can pump it up, store it, take it back down.

"We have to shift into the next gear, not just for the reason of becoming independent but also to look after the bigger picture – that we live on a planet that's as enjoyable as it is today.

"We should think of 'peace energy' or 'freedom energy', which is renewable energy.

"That is the future, not just as a way of protecting people who can't afford bills but also to protect against the future."

While Vettel did admit to being at odds with F1's carbon footprint, he did defend the sport by saying it played a positive role in lifting people's spirits during Covid.

He said: "On the other hand, you know, we were entertaining people during Covid.

"We were one of the first ones to start again, when everybody's heads were about to explode.

"I'm not saying Formula One has this huge position in the world to deliver entertainment.

"There's plenty of people – if you talk about entertainment, sports, culture, comedy – a lot of people who couldn't perform, and a lot of people missed that. And I think if we didn't have that, in general, we'd probably go mad."

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