F1’s plea to potential protestors: ‘The sport is trailblazing sustainability’

The start of last year’s race at Silverstone was invaded by a group of "Just Stop Oil" campaigners.

Fortunately due to the race being red-flagged anyway due to Zhou Guanyu’s crash, the protest had a limited impact on the race.

The same group has been active in a number of sporting events in recent months, including Snooker, Cricket and Rugby.

Unlike in other spots, the risks in F1 are significantly greater for campaigners to enter the track given the 200 mph speeds.

In an interview with Sky Sports, Wolff addressed the prospect of a potential protest at Silverstone this weekend.

"I think from our side, one needs to understand that our industry is trailblazing in sustainability. We're having sustainable fuels. In 2026, it will be 100 percent sustainable fuel.

"The technology and innovation in F1 is important to achieve those mission standards and our cars are driving 200 miles per hour. You're putting yourselves in danger and also the drivers.

"I can speak for our drivers, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. They wouldn't want to have anybody being at risk, spectators, fans or themselves. That is not the place to take big risks. You're not blocking anybody but you're seriously putting people at harm."

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali made it clear that the sport is “really engaged” on various sustainable issues.

"We are not here to dispute any different opinions on things, but to do things that are getting dangerous and basically destroying events that hundreds of thousands of people [go to] is totally wrong," Domenicali added. 

"I think [there is] a way of showing what you want to do but this is totally unacceptable, so we really hope that people understand it's not the place. That's pretty clear to me. Our industry is frontline to make sure the awareness of sustainability is there, so we are really engaged on that."