Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel praised as ‘incredible figureheads’ of change in motorsport by Aston Martin’s Jessica Hawkins

Four-time Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel has been described as an ‘amazing role model’ who has helped the all-female W Series grow into a leader in motorsport.

Aston Martin’s Vettel is one of the best-known names on the F1 grid, dominating the series with four consecutive titles at Red Bull between 2010 and 2013, before going toe to toe with Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari.

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Vettel made the move to Italy in 2015 hoping to replicate his hero Michael Schumacher, but ultimately fell short, finishing as a runner-up to Hamilton’s imperious Mercedes in 2017 and 2018.

Vettel remains the sport’s youngest ever world champion with his 2010 title coming at the age of 23, and despite now being 34, he is still as relevant in the world of motorsport as ever.

Only two drivers in the sport’s long history have more wins than Vettel’s 91, and he most recently used his status as an F1 great to take a stand against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“For myself, my own opinion is I should not go, I will not go,” Vettel said in relation to the Russian Grand Prix last week. 

“I think it’s wrong to race in that country. I’m sorry for the people, innocent people who are losing their lives, getting killed for stupid reasons under a very strange and mad leadership.”

F1 soon followed up his comments by removing the September race from the calendar, but it’s far from the first time Vettel has let his feelings be known.

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During the 2021 Hungarian GP, Vettel with the host country holding a widely-criticised referendum on LGBTQ+ rights.

He also stayed behind at the British GP weeks earlier, collecting litter left in the stands, whilst being a regular critic of F1’s perceived slow environmental progress.

Aston Martin ambassador and W Series driver Jessica Hawkis has spoken in glowing terms about her teammate, telling talkSPORT: “He is, hand on heart, one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met.

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“He is using his brand to express how he’s feeling and everything he does, he does because he genuinely means it, he’s not doing it for show, he’s not doing it for anything other than he truly believes in what he stands up for.

“To have a role model like that, not just for me, but for everybody in the sport is amazing and genuinely I cannot express enough how amazing he is.”

The all-female W Series is entering its third full season this year, with Hawkins also delving into her third year in the competition.

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Her F1 colleague Vettel has regularly spoken out in favour of women’s rights, most recently holding.

F1 raced in Saudi for the first time in December, and received some criticism for driving in a country condemned .

Women have only recently been allowed to drive in the country, with Vettel’s gesture roundly applauded.

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Much like Vettel, former rival turned respected friend, Lewis Hamilton, has similarly received praise for bringing an equality commission to the sport, earning praise from Hawkins.

She said: “Any top level sports person to speak out like they have done is incredible and they’re doing what they can while they’re in their prime to make change. 

“We need figureheads like that because they are the people in the public eye and if they’re willing to make that step and make that change that’s what we need in the sport.

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“From when I first started, when I first had a go in a go-kart I could name two other names of females that were involved in motorsport or certainly ones I was racing around with anyway.

“We are seeing more females within the sport, not just drivers, but mechanics, engineers, strategists, marketing, and all of these people have a genuine interest in motorsport. 

“I do think that is because we now have a few figureheads and we do have people speaking out and I think that we’re changing the perception. 

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“The perception is that motorsport is a man’s world and whilst I think that it still is predominantly men, the perception is changing, which is where some of the issue lies, is the perception and at Aston Martin are helping drive that change.”

Hawkins’ W Series featured alongside F1 for the first time in 2021, and had its rights picked up by Channel 4 to go along with their F1 highlights package.

The sport is now thriving with two-time champions Jamie Chadwick earmarked for a future F1 drive, and Hawkins had no doubt about the series’ success when asked what the second-biggest four wheeled category is.

“You could argue that it is W Series,” she said. “Give it a few years, if it’s not W Series [now] then it will be then.”