28/10/2019
NEWS STORY
It's not often that we find ourselves lost for words, far less gasp in shock, but that is what happened yesterday as Jenson Button was interviewing Sebastian Vettel for Sky Sports.
As the two walked through the paddock people walked alongside in a desperate bid to have their picture taken with the four-time world champion, one woman actually attempting to turn the German to face the camera.
Sadly, it continued after the race on the podium, where the event's 'mascot', Mario Achi - possibly Mexico's equivalent of Go Compare's Gio Compario - sought to take a selfie with Vettel, who promptly pushed him away.
Speaking afterwards, Vettel, one of the few drivers to not use social media, and an admitted loather of selfies, was critical of the mascot.
Asked about the podium ceremony, which saw Vettel joined by race-winner Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, the winner's car and Mario Archi, the German said: "I think it was cool.
"I didn't like the selfie guy when he tried to push into the picture so I pushed him away!" he admitted. "I'm not big into selfies anyway."
The German also hit out at the trophy, which would have looked more in place on a bar top than in a trophy cabinet.
"It was nice, to elevate the car as well is really cool. It's a very nice way to do it to involve the whole stadium and the crowd," he said. "I liked most of it except the selfie guy and the trophies.
"It's a shame," he sighed. "You have such a great race and they put so much effort into the race and then you get these shitty trophies that look boring.
"We could have for the future maybe something nice, traditional Mexican, because it's a bit of a shame," he continued, voicing a view that has been echoed by other drivers in recent years, including Hamilton.
"There's Heineken written everywhere! You don't need to have the fricking star on the trophy as well. Get something nice like they had when F1 used to race here before we came back."
All we can say is that thank god such obvious sponsor trophies weren't available in days gone by. One shudders to think what a certain sponsor of the Surtees team might have come up with, and we don't mean Brooke Bond Oxo.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Mexico City, here.