Sebastian Vettel criticised the president of Italy's "ego" which he says led to a jumbo jet joining nine military aircraft in a fly-by just before the start of the Italian Grand Prix.
Passionate about the environment, the German has long campaigned for Formula 1 to become more sustainable. And the sport's bosses themselves have taken some steps, including a target for it to become net-zero by 2030.
As part of that sustainability strategy, fly-bys were, for the most part, axed at the start of this season. But some display teams were still given the green light to perform, such as the Red Arrows at the British Grand Prix and the Frecce Tricolori in Italy.
Nine MB339 jets took to the skies above Monza on Sunday as part of the build up to the race. They left trails of red, white and green smoke – the colours of the Italian flag – and on the second pass of the grid they were joined by a huge jumbo jet.
Vettel, who said he was told the Italian president had ordered the larger aircraft to join the display, was not too impressed by the show. He said he wants to see Monza remain on the F1 calendar – but wouldn't mind seeing the fly-bys scrapped.
"I heard the president of Italy was insisting to have the fly-by – I mean, he's about 100 years old, so maybe it's difficult for him to let go of these kinds of ego things," he said. "I think it has to stay on the calendar. It is a great circuit, a great atmosphere, but the fly-bys...
"We were promised that they are gone. And it seems that the president just has to change his mind and F1 gives in despite the boards around the track about certain goals when it comes to making the world a better place.
"F1 should move away from being influenced. If you have a goal then you shouldn't do like all the countries and just neglect the fact that you won't achieve it. You should stick to the word you put out, but time will tell. It's a great circuit, a great atmosphere but they should stop doing the fly-bys."
Monza is the location of Vettel's final ever F1 race in Europe, after he announced his impending retirement earlier in the summer. But he was not able to produce a result he would have hoped for, instead having to retire his Aston Martin after just 11 laps with a mechanical issue.
