How Sebastian Vettel Avoided Being Ripped Off for $23,000 at the French F1 Grand Prix

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel may not have had the best of seasons in 2019, but a year earlier he showcased his business acumen. During the French Grand Prix weekend, and pragmatic side while searching for accommodation on a Grand Prix weekend.

The German four-time World champion was part of an experiment conducted by Auto Motor und Sport. They were working on a story on how various F1 personnel tackled the sport’s first-ever triple-header in 2018. This year’s calendar clubbed the French, Austrian and British GPs together in as many weeks.

It seemed that the first leg at the Paul Ricard circuit in the south of France was widely regarded as an absolute nightmare. Especially for anyone traveling to the venue by car.

As it turned out, some fans were left stuck in traffic jams for over four hours on Friday alone. It was the same situation both heading to and trying to depart the circuit.

To combat this, Vettel initially planned to bypass the chaos by renting a jet to the airport at the circuit. Following that, he would stay at the Hotel du Castellet trackside. But, one thing he forgot to account for was the cost.

“The hotel had raised the room prices for the GP week to 2,500 euros per night,” AMuS reported. “That was too much for a Formula 1 World Champion — on principle.”

His next brainwave was to park his motorhome in the paddock. That too was shot down when it turned out that the promoter also wanted more than a pretty penny. According to AMuS a fee of £15,000 was required to park the Ferrari motorhome on the grounds of the French track.

As a last resort, Vettel parked his motorhome in a good spot 8km from the track, then rode his classic Suzuki motorcycle to-and-fro each day.

Like this, he was able to cut personal costs and still get to the circuit on time for each session.