Vettel hits back after criticism: 'Disappointing that it became personal'

Sebastian Vettel arrived at the Canadian Grand Prix with a tough message for the local government. He spoke out against the mining activities in Alberta, which brought him fierce criticism from local politicians. The Aston Martin driver has since responded to the criticism, saying he regrets that it diverts attention from the real problem.

Vettel appeared wearing a t-shirt and helmet with the messages 'stop mining tar sands' and 'Canada's climate crime'. Canada has been under fire for years for extracting oil from large deposits of tar sands, which harms both the environment and ancient forests.

Sonya Savage, Alberta's Minister of Energy, took offence to Vettel's message and pointed out in a Tweet pointed out that Aston Martin is sponsored by the Saudi Arabian oil company Aramco. "I have seen a lot of hypocrisy over the years, but this one takes the cake," the minister bellowed, adding that people would do well to look after their own environmental footprint.

Asked about Savage's comments, Vettel agreed he could be labelled a hypocrite, but insisted he needed to look at the big picture. "I am a little bit disappointed that politicians and politics jumps on a personal level because it is not about me, you know, it is not all about me, it is about the bigger picture," the German stated according to Express.

According to Vettel, what is really important and ignored is the message that fossil fuels must be abandoned and the focus placed on renewable energy sources.