F1 | Italian GP | ACI President hits back at Vettel for comments on Italian president and the fly-bys at Monza
Sebastian Vettel addressed the fly-bys matter in Italy, saying that driver were promised that they were gone, but in the end the Italian president pushed F1 to have them anyway.
The Italian Grand Prix last weekend ended with a great victory for Red Bull, which once again proved to be the favorite team for the world championship, but the questions regarding the Monza GP are still open.
The focus of the discussion in the last few hours revolves around Sebastian Vettel's statements regarding over the “tricolor arrows” fly-by. The German driver criticised the Italian president for choosing to continue with this tradition, despite the fact that Formula 1 had guaranteed the drivers that there would be no more exhibitions like that one - because they have a huge environmental impact due to emissions of the airplanes.
“I heard the president of Italy was insisting to have the fly-by – I mean, he’s about 100 years old, so maybe it’s difficult for him to let go of these kinds of ego things. I think it has to stay on the calendar, it is a great circuit, a great atmosphere, but the fly-bys…” 4-time world champion winner Sebastian Vettel said.
“We were promised that they are gone, and it seems that the president just has to change his mind and F1 gives in despite the boards around the track about certain goals when it comes to making the world a better place.
Vettel is known for his great talent on the track and for his commitment to social issues, such as - in this case - safeguarding the planet. He's a member of several associations, he supports foundations that fight for a better future, so he felt addressing this matter was important for everyone, included Formula 1.
“F1 should move away from being influenced. If you have a goal then you shouldn’t do like all the countries and just neglect the fact that you won’t achieve it. You should stick to the word you put out, but time will tell.
“It’s a great circuit, a great atmosphere but they should stop doing the fly-bys.”
The driver's words were contested by Giuseppe Radaelli, president of the ACI that manages the Monza circuit.
“This is a controversy that offends the President of the Republic and all of us. We thank Mattarella for coming here to celebrate the centenary of the racetrack," he said.
Radaelli added that, as the company explained before in an Instagram post, the fly-bys "flew with a dose equal to 25% of bio fuel. It was the first flight of this type and was also an important experiment for civil aviation".
