German racing driver Sebastian Vettel has said he will not compete in Formula One's Russian Grand Prix this year amid the ongoing military operations of Russia in Ukraine.
The four-time Formula One champion said he was "shocked" to see what is happening.
"In my personal opinion, I woke up to this morning's news, shocked, so I don't know. I think it's horrible to see what is happening," Sky Sports quoted Vettel as saying at a press conference during pre-season testing
"Obviously if you look at the calendar we have a race scheduled in Russia. For myself, my own opinion is I should not go, I will not go. I think it's wrong to race in the country," he added.
Vettel said he has made his decision and when a country is at war it is not right to compete in a race there.
"I'm sure it's something that we will talk about, but personally I'm just so shocked and sad to see what is going on. So we will see going forward, but I think my decision is already made," said Vettel.
"When a country is at war it is not right to race there," he added.
Leaders from a number of countries including the UK, the US, Canada and the European Union have condemned Russia's military operations in the Donbas region.
( With inputs from ANI )
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor