MontmelóThe war between Russia and Ukraine has not left indifferent the Formula 1 pits. Hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin made the decision to invade Ukraine, the engines started again at the Circuit de Catalunya on the second day of the preseason tests. During the morning session, the focus was on the performance of the cars, but once the traffic light turned red and the drivers began to make an appearance in the press room, their eyes shifted to the conflict. . Of the five drivers who have appeared (press conferences are held by groups of different teams), Sebastian Vettel has been the strongest: “I will not run in the Russian Grand Prix.”
“I think it’s horrible to see what’s going on. If you look at the schedule, we have a race scheduled in Russia. Personally, I don’t think you have to run. I’m not going there. My decision is made,” he said. F1 world champion blows. “I think it’s bad to run in this country. I’m sorry for the innocent people who are losing their lives, who are being killed for stupid reasons under very strange and crazy leadership,” the Aston Martin driver added. to Putin and demanding responsibility from the organization in an extreme situation. Like him, although less forceful, the current world champion, Max Verstappen, has positioned himself. “When a country is at war, it is not right to run in it,” said the Dutchman about the GP to be held on the weekend of March 25.
Unlike Vettel and Verstappen, Fernando Alonso has been more cryptic and has decided not to get wet. “[Disputar el GP de Rússia] it is a decision of Formula 1. We drive. We have our opinion, but who decides is the organization. They will make the best decision, “said the Spanish driver. Like him, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc acknowledged the sadness of the events, but did not want to comment on the need or not to run the Russian GP:” No I have enough information to comment “.
Emergency meeting this evening
In the second press conference of the day, with several World Cup team leaders, the Russian conflict has left a significant drop in attendance. Guenther Steiner, leader of the Haas team, a team sponsored mainly by the Russian company Uralkali, did not attend. The president of the company, Sergey Chemezov, is on the list of sanctions imposed by the United States on Russia. Uralkali, a giant in the production of potash fertilizers, became the main sponsor of the Haas team last year, which sees its economic stability endangered as a result of the conflict. In fact, Uralkali has already fallen on the stock market after the Russian attack.
For his part, Ferrari team leader Mattia Binotto, present at the press conference, confirmed that a meeting has been called this Thursday evening between all the teams in the World Championship “in order to understand and manage the situation”. “Formula 1 is not the most important thing in this situation. It is much more serious what is happening in Ukraine,” he said.
“It was an unfair decision”
On the strictly sports page, Max Verstappen, far from dispelling the allegations made Wednesday by Lewis Hamilton, wanted to make it clear that the dismissal of Michael Massi as Formula 1 race director seems “unfair” and “a bad decision”. “For me, it’s very unfair what happened to Michael: they’ve brought him down. In the first place, it’s unacceptable to me. And now, basically, saying goodbye to him is really amazing. I’m so sorry for Michael. Dismissing him immediately, for me, is not the right decision. I wish him the best and I hope he is better than being the director of F1 racing, “said the world champion.
