Sebastian Vettel finished second at the 2019 Mexican Grand Prix, which allowed him to stand on the podium and be presented with an “ugly” sponsor logo-adorned trophy as well as be accosted by Mario-Achi – the selfie stick-wielding mascot of the Mexican Grand Prix.
“I think it’s a shame, you have such a great race and they’ve put so much effort into the race, and then you get these shitty trophies that look boring,” said Vettel after the race. “I think we could have some for the future, maybe something nice, maybe a traditional Mexican, because I think it’s a bit of a shame. I mean, there’s Heineken written everywhere. You don’t need to have the freakin’ star on the trophy as well. So get something nice like they had when we used to race, when Formula One used to race here before we came back.”
But Vettel was more repulsed by “Mario-Achi” and his selfie stick intruding upon the podium with himself and Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.
“I didn’t like the selfie guy when he tried to push into the picture, so I pushed him away,” said Vettel. “I’m not big into selfies anyways.”
Lest you think Vettel was being too much of a curmudgeon, he did indicate that there were other elements of the post-race festivities that he fancied.
“But I think it was nice to elevate the car as well. I think it’s really cool. Obviously, it’s a very nice way to do it, to involve the whole stadium and the crowd and the other things, so I liked most of it, except the selfie guy and the trophies.”