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Earlier today, Sebastian Vettel was on track in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to compete in a go-kart race against Saudi Arabian female racers as part of his 'Race 4 Women' initiative. Vettel started the initiative in 2021, soon after it became legal for women to drive cars in Saudi Arabia in 2018, organizing the first go-karting event during his time racing in Formula 1.
This year, he returned to Jeddah for another go at the event, where he went live on his Instagram to talk about the initiative, as well as what he learned from the female drivers. He also spoke about the challenge he put down this time: to race him.
In a video shared to the Autosport X account, the former Ferrari driver can be seen hopping in a go-kart and driving on the track, as well as sharing a message about the beginnings of the 'Race 4 Women' event. He said:
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"I've been here a couple of years ago, in 2021, when there was the first race in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia to celebrate the positive change. The fact that women are allowed to drive, I wanted to get some first-hand information. We had a handful of drivers joining us on the go-kart track."
Sebastian Vettel also highlighted what has changed since his last visit four years ago.
"Girls are allowed to race, there's a ladies' cup championship that is held."
Speaking about the event itself, the former F1 driver explained what he gained from his experience of interacting with the Saudi Arabian female racers.
"We had a great couple of days. Two days where I had the chance with these 20 young girls and young women to get in touch, exchange information, hear about their story, why they got involved in motorsport and racing, what they love about it, and to be honest it's been very inspiring to me and I think a great push for them to just be seen, be heard, be listened to and looking forward to seeing how it pans out for them."
Sebastian Vettel is in the region just ahead of the next race in the F1 2025 season, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix taking place this weekend, April 18-20, at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
"Everyone was extremely happy": Sebastian Vettel's comments from the first Race 4 Women event
Speaking to the media in 2021, Sebastian Vettel spoke about the success of the first-ever 'Race 4 Women' event that was held in Saudi Arabia ahead of the Grand Prix weekend, where he raced for the Aston Martin team.
Discussing the initial event, the German driver explained how women from different backgrounds had come together, with different levels of interest, and some even without a driving licence to be a part of the initiative, stating that everyone enjoyed themselves. He said [via Motorsport.com]:
"I was trying to pass on some of my experiences in life and on track to do something together to grow their confidence. Obviously in Saudi Arabia women have only been allowed since 2017 to drive a car so some of them had a license others they did not, some of them were huge F1 enthusiasts, others had nothing to do with F1 or racing before today. So it was a good mix of women from different backgrounds and a great event, everyone was extremely happy."
2021 marked Sebastian Vettel's penultimate year in F1, and he finished the season with a single podium at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
