Every year, the Goodwood Festival of Speed has a special guest who, for one reason or another, is in the spotlight. For example, last year Nigel Mansell, the 1992 world champion, was such a guest – in 2022 it will be 30 years since he won his title.
It was symbolic in its own way that this weekend Sebastian Vettel piloted the same championship car Mansell, Williams FW14B, which is now in the personal collection of the German racer. Now it is he who has the honor of being a special guest of the festival, and after several races along the high-speed hill climb track, the four-time world champion, who ended his career in motorsport last year, drove up to the mansion of Charles Gordon-Lennox, 11th Duke of Richmond.
True, he did not drive up to Williams, but to McLaren of the 1993 model, on which Ayrton Senna performed that season. According to tradition, the duke personally met the guest on the porch of the mansion, though Sebastian did not get to him right away. Accompanied by security guards, he literally squeezed through a narrow passage leading to the house, and hundreds of hands reached out to him from all sides. Fans handed him a variety of items – caps, T-shirts, notebooks or just pieces of paper, and Sebastian patiently signed autographs.
Someone slipped him a thermos for this, someone even a steering wheel from a racing simulator. And you also had to stop to take a selfie – in general, the Duke of Vettel was clearly tired of waiting, but in the end Sebastian reached the goal.
Together with Gordon-Lennox, he went up to the balcony of the mansion and there, to the applause of thousands of fans, Karun Chandhok, a former Formula 1 driver and now an expert on Sky Sports, talked to him.
“Of course, yesterday, because of the weather, everyone had reasons to be upset, but today she pleased us, the day turned out to be beautiful, and I had a great time,” said Vettel. – I had a special reason to come here: I brought my cars to Goodwood, and they are filled with synthetic, carbon-neutral fuel.
Many people asked me: “Is it possible to use such fuel in everyday life?” I’m not sure if I have a ready answer, but if we all ask ourselves these questions, then one day the day will come when this will become a reality. We all live on the same planet and must take care of it. Serious changes are taking place in the world, we must be aware of this and try to do something.
Of course, I love motorsport, and it would be a pity if in the future such festivals, races and motorsport in general will be in danger of extinction. I really want to protect all this and do something in advance to prevent such a threat.”
When Sebastian was reminded that a year ago Nigel Mansell stood on this balcony and gave an interview, he cheerfully replied: “I feel very good for Nigel and admire him. I drove several of his cars, but I don’t understand how he managed to show such speeds on them.
The cockpit is very crowded, although I am rather slender, and he is a very strong man of a dense physique. I would like to travel back in time and be in the 90s to compete with the racers of that era, although I am not at all sure that I would have succeeded. And yet it’s great that even now, after 30 years, we still start their engines.
Driving the McLaren, which Ayrton Senna raced in 1993 and which I drove up to this mansion, is a special emotion, especially when everything happens in front of so many people. In this car, his seat, his steering wheel, and actually this week I did secret tests at Silverstone, because I had to check that everything works fine in this McLaren, and it was a lot of fun.
I did 10-15 laps, and even tried to attack and was not much slower than driving a modern Formula 1 car. Although, of course, I did not test it at top speeds, it is still my own car, and if I broke it, then you would have to pay out of your own pocket!
Of course, Vettel was asked about his plans for the future, and this is how he answered: “I don’t know exactly what the next challenge that I want to take will be, but I am worried about the fate of the planet, and I want my voice to be used for good purposes. My participation in the Goodwood Festival is also part of this, and I hope that there will be many more things to do.
I still watch races and enjoy it because I remain an avid fan. At the same time, I can’t help but comment on what is happening on the screen to my wife – I hope she has nothing against it. (laughs) But in the end, I have to find something that really fascinates me.”
At this point, Karun Chandhok interrupted him and assured that Sebastian would always find a place in the commentary booth. The crowd greeted this idea with a roar of approval.
“No, no,” Vettel replied. – I like to watch races. Besides, I have a habit of talking too much, so my comment will probably not be the most interesting. But I’m sure I’ll be showing up for a couple of races pretty soon because I miss all those people who work in Formula 1 because I have so many friends among them.”
2023-07-16 19:46:00
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