Sebastian Vettel held a female-only karting event ahead of Formula 1’s inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix because he wants to address the country’s social problems with positivity rather than “just focus on the negatives”.
F1’s first race in Jeddah has been met with widespread criticism from human rights groups that have called on the championship and its lead drivers to raise awareness of persecuted people in the religious and conservative country.
The male guardianship system and outlawing of same-sex relations in Saudi Arabia have traditionally made women and the LGBTQ+ community vulnerable.
Vettel, who has been a public LGBTQ+ ally at previous races and wore shoes adorned with the Progress Pride colours on Thursday in Jeddah, organised a karting event earlier in the day.
In a lengthy, eloquent answer explaining why, Vettel said that “if you look from a Western or European lens, that there’s still lots of things that should be improved and have to be addressed – but it’s also true that some things are changing.
“And for those people, they make a huge difference.”
For that reason he wanted to engage in one of Saudi Arabia’s most prominent areas of reform, which is the law change that has allowed women to drive on their own since 2018.
“There’s been a lot of talk and thought heading into the race here, the first time we race in Saudi Arabia,” said Vettel.
“There are a lot of questions that have been asked and I’ve asked myself.
“I was thinking of what I can do. In general, we have so much attention or so much focus on negative examples when it comes to shortcomings sort of certain countries in regards to maybe human rights and other things, but I really try to think of the positives.
“And so I set up my own karting event today under the hashtag Race For Women. And we had a group of seven or eight girls and women on the track.
“I was trying to pass on some of my experiences in life and obviously on track, to do something together to grow their confidence. Some of them had a licence, others they did not, some of them were huge F1 enthusiasts, others had nothing to do with Formula 1 or racing before today.
“It was a good mix of women from different backgrounds and a great event, everybody was extremely happy.
“And I was, I have to say, very inspired by their stories and their background, their positivity about the change in the country.”
Saudi Arabia is the fourth F1 race to be staged in the Middle East. Two weeks ago the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix was held. Vettel said F1’s brief appearances in these countries make it “very difficult for us coming to a country where we spend maybe only a couple of days, trying to be a perfect judge by not knowing the background exactly and the people inside out”.
He added: “This way it was important to get to know some of these women. And I think it was a very, very memorable and inspiring day and a great way to kick off the weekend by focusing on the positive.”
Vettel stressed that cultures like Saudi Arabia’s do need to evolve. But he believes it is important to have a broader perspective and suggested it would be counter-productive to only be critical.
“It’s clear that some things aren’t going the way they should,” Vettel said. “But that’s our point of view. And it’s also probably true that things are always taking time.
“I would love to change the world in some things overnight. But who am I to judge about right and wrong? I think that’s a slippery slope.
“It’s true that in some countries, some shortcomings are bigger than others. I think there’s trouble in Germany, there’s trouble in the UK when it comes to individual freedom, probably to a different scale and level.
“But I feel that we don’t really get anywhere by just highlighting the negatives and being so negative, because in the end, it makes you sad.
“Much more inspiring I find is to highlight the positives, and listen to those who have been touched and whose life has been improved.
“And to see today these women, the confidence they had, and maybe in an area that is male dominated when it comes to driving or racing, to give them the chance and the focus, I think it’s been great.
“And it’s given me a lot of pleasure as well, even though it wasn’t a race or something that maybe people imagined, but just the fact that I’m spending time and giving something back and some of my experience, they really enjoyed that.
“So I think that’s a happier way to look at things to focus on the positives rather than just focus on the negatives.
“But for sure there are shortcomings and they have to be addressed. I still feel the more powerful tool is the positive weapon than a negative one.”
