BARCELONA, June 11th. (dpa/EP) –
The German driver Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) wore a white shirt on Saturday, alluding to the war in Ukraine, on his arrival at the third session of free practice at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The four-time Formula 1 world champion’s shirt featured the Russian words “friends” and “peace” in black letters, and two hands shaking each other. In addition, the runner wore wristbands in the colors of the Ukrainian flag: blue and yellow. Also, as on previous occasions, he traveled to the paddock on a bicycle with the colors of the rainbow.
About the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the pilot spoke several times in recent weeks about it. Shortly after the start of the war, on February 24, Vettel wore a helmet with the Ukrainian flag and also promoted the boycott of the race in Russia, which was later cancelled.
This weekend, the eighth round of the World Cup takes place in a former Soviet republic, where the official languages were Azerbaijani and Russian, until 1991. Precisely, the latter is currently taught in schools.