The 2010s has witnessed the rise of social media and several sporting stars are using it to be closer to the fans. However, there are a few well-known figures who stay off it to maintain their privacy. Sebastian Vettel is one such driver, and he isn’t on social media at all.
For a fairly long time, Kimi Raikkonen did the same, until he set up an Instagram account. The Finn received millions of followers almost instantly and his popularity has skyrocketed.
Owing to social media, the current generation of Formula 1 drivers can interact with fans more efficiently. Drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris are perhaps the kings of social media. However, Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly is quite active on the different platforms and urges Vettel to do the same.
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Will Sebastian Vettel join his peers on social media?
With Kimi Raikkonen’s Instagram account, Sebastian Vettel is the last Formula 1 driver not to be on social platforms. As a result, Pierre Gasly believes that it is high time that the Ferrari driver shows what he is doing in the Swiss Alps.
“In 2019 and 2020 our generation, everybody is on social media,” Gasly told RACER.com. “Except Seb (Vettel) who is the only one and the only exception! We are still pushing him to be on Instagram, because it’s not normal these days not to be on social media”
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Even Vettel’s teammate, Charles Leclerc urged Vettel to join him on Twitch and stream online races. He said in one of his streams, “It would be amazing to see Sebastian streaming with me. Ehm I am not sure if he will stream with me. I know he is still trying to mount his simulator. As soon as he is done, I will send him a text and hopefully we can race together and I will stream it.”
Admittedly, Vettel recently bought a simulator, but hadn’t gone about setting it up. The German also revealed that his colleagues constantly pressure him into streaming races with them. However, he is not particularly confident in his abilities and needs a bit of ‘training’ before taking on anyone.