Sometimes even good intentions are not well understood by everyone. So it can happen that even the livery of a helmet made up of symbols of peace and all the flags of the planet becomes an instrument of tension and controversy. This also happens in the world of Formula 1 and so on Sebastian Vettel ended up in the crosshairs of the Cypriot automobile federation, who directly and heavily attacked the four-time world champion. The subject of the dispute is the helmet that the Aston Martin driver is wearing these days during the pre-season tests in Bahrain.
Vettel wanted to change his traditional livery paying tribute to Ukraine, victim in recent weeks of the invasion of the Russian army, which brought the war to the country by severely attacking all the main cities, including the capital Kiev. The new design sported by the former Ferrari driver bears the words ‘No War’ and the hashtag #racingunited, used by F1 itself in recent days to raise awareness against the work of the Moscow government. To these words, however, Vettel also wanted to add the colors of Ukraine instead of his traditional German flag and – as a detail on the lower edge of the helmet – a collage with all the flags of the world side by side. A message of unity and peace which, however, was not interpreted in this way by the Cyprus Automobile Association, the Cypriot car federation.
In fact, among all the flags present, Vettel has inserted – probably due to inattention – the banner of Northern Cyprus. This state, formally known as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, is actually a self-proclaimed territory not recognized by the international community. It extends to the northern part of the island of Cyprus and the only country that recognizes it as independent is Turkey. From Cyprus, therefore, very severe attacks have arrived against Vettel, with the request to the FIA for severe measures towards the German driver and his team. “Vettel’s decision to show the flag of this pseudo-state on his helmet is unacceptable. We demand the immediate removal of the flag from his helmet and the imposition of a penalty on both the rider and his team”Reads the statement released by the Cypriot automobile association.
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