Daniel Ricciardo and Valtteri Bottas have both expressed a desire for Sebastian Vettel to continue in his role as a Director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA), despite his retirement. Prior to the Hungarian Grand Prix, four-time F1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel announced his plans to retire from the sport at the end of the season. Since 2010, Vettel has also held a role as Director of the GPDA, the organisation which looks after the welfare and interests of F1 drivers. He worked alongside fellow directors Alex Wurz (who is also the chairman), George Russell and Anastasia Fowle, the first non-driver to hold a role within the GPDA . In his later years in F1, Vettel hasn't often shied away from big topics, including the Ukraine-Russia war, F1 safety and environmental issues. Since it was reformed in 1994, the GPDA has had several directors, with many drivers choosing to leave their roles when they stop racing in F1, although this is not mandatory. For example, Wurz took on his GPDA roles in 2014, several years after his last F1 race, and Pedro de la Rosa held a Director position between 2008-2010 and 2012-2014, despite competing in only one full season in that time.
Bottas: Straightforward Vettel questions many things
Vettel is yet to confirm whether or not he intends to stay in his role with the GPDA, but he maintains the support of fellow F1 drivers. McLaren driver Ricciardo explained that Vettel's directness made him a strong character for the role. "We'll see if he wants to continue. I don't know. He's certainly done a good job," Ricciardo told media, including RacingNews365.com . "Seb is a guy that, a lot of the time, just says it how it is and not in an aggressive way, it's just very honest and direct. "When we're on topics like safety, then we don't need to beat around the bush, so I think his character is really good for that position. "It [Vettel's retirement announcement] is obviously all very new news for us. I guess we'll discuss it internally and have a think who is a good replacement, but he was great for us." Alfa Romeo's Bottas backed up the Australian's views, and said he hoped that Vettel would continue in the role. "I feel like it's quite hard to replace Seb in that kind of role, because he is really straightforward and direct and doesn't skirt around things, and says as things as they are, and questions many things loudly," added Bottas. "I hope he continues. I'm not sure if he's keen, but it would be great if he continued."
Most read
