Vettel plays down F1 return

Making an appearance in the Imola paddock to lead a ceremony remembering the lives of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna, four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel played down the prospect of an F1 return.

He was linked as an outsider for the seat at Mercedes set to be vacated by Lewis Hamilton, though that was always a long shot.

Vettel has now further distanced himself from a return, noting his environmental work and the juxtopision with F1.

“There’s lots of things that I miss but there’s also things that just don’t work together,” he said.

“It was a very tough decision, it still hurts, I think it’s better now after one and a half years of distance. But I think I’m very much at peace with it and enjoying my new life.”

Earlier this year, the German tested a Porsche hypercar earlier sparking suggestions he could race at Le Mans with the marque.

Australian GP figures in Imola

A contingent of figures associated with the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix and Australian motorsport were in Imola for last weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Martin Pakula, chair of the board for the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, took time out from a family holiday to attend the event on Sunday.

Pakula was there for the social occasion, spending time on the grid rather than for any official purpose.

He was joined by former Motorsport Australia president Andrew Papadopoulos, who retired at the end of 2020.

Verstappen wins twice

Max Verstappen won not only the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix but also a 24-hour sim race around the Nurburgring.

Verstappen saw off a late charge from Lando Norris on Sunday afternoon in Imola to win by 0.7s.

That came after a morning spent on the sim, where he completed a second stint as part of his Team Redline crew.

Following qualifying on Saturday he’d also driven, skipping the overnight running to sleep ahead of Sunday’s grand prix.

The race concluded as Verstappen was on the grid, where he was on pole position from Norris.