Lewis Hamilton says he will continue to speak his mind during the 2023 Formula 1 season in defiance of an FIA ban on political speech in motorsport.
Late last year the FIA inserted a clause into the International Sporting Code, world motorsport’s fundamental governance document, that bans drivers from making “political, religious and personal statements” without prior written approval.
Punishments for breaking the code range from a simple warning to the suspension of a competition licence and a maximum fine of €250,000 ($387,000).
The new rule followed several demonstrations by drivers over the previous two years on various environmental and social issues, with Hamilton and the now retired Sebastian Vettel the most active on the grid.
Speaking at the launch of the 2023 Mercedes W14, Hamilton said that the sport has a responsibility to use its platform for positive change and that he wouldn’t be deterred from speaking up.
“It doesn’t surprise me,” he said, per Racer. “But nothing will stop me from speaking on the things that I’m passionate about and on issues that there are.
“The sport does have a responsibility still to speak out, to create awareness on important topics, particularly as we travel to all these different places. So nothing changes for me.
“I think it would be silly to say that I would want to get penalty points for speaking out on things, but as I said, I am still going to be speaking my mind. We still have this platform and there are still a lot of things we need to tackle.
“The support from Stefano (Domenicali, F1 CEO) has been amazing and I think all of the drivers have been very much aligned on freedom of speech.”
Domenicali told the Guardian earlier this month that Formula 1 “will never put a gag on anyone” and that he was talking to the FIA about clarifying the reach of the rule.
“We are talking about 20 drivers, 10 teams and many sponsors, they have different ideas, different views,” he said. “I cannot say one is right, one is wrong, but it is right, if needed, to give them a platform to discuss their opinions in an open way.
“We will not change that approach as a sport. That should be the line of our sport, to give everyone the chance to speak in the right way, not with aggressive tones or to offend but with respect.”
Several other drivers have also said that they are prepared to defy the ban.
Williams driver Alex Albon said he thought the FIA was contradicting itself after committing to F1’s ‘We Race as One’ initiative and launching its own ‘Purpose Driven’ campaign for diversity and inclusion in recent years.
“On a personal side it is somewhat confusing,” Albon said. “We were very much for ‘We Race as One’ and all these kinds of situations, and so now it seems like the FIA are trying to go away from that.
“A lot of people come to us and look at us as spokespeople for issues around the world and I do feel like it is a responsibility for drivers to make people aware of these kinds of situations. We’re all concerned.”
Lando Norris said he would be prepared to cop a penalty to speak out on issues important to him.
“I don’t know what the penalty is. If it’s a fine, I am probably happy to break it,” he told the Guardian. “If it’s a bit more, then maybe not, but it depends — at certain times there are things you are going to want to say which maybe they won’t allow but I think that will only be a positive thing for whatever that circumstance is.
“We are not at school, we shouldn’t have to ask about everything: ‘Can we do this? Can we do that?’.
“We are grown up enough to make smart decisions. Enough drivers have said things now to push back.”
Hamilton’s teammate, George Russell, said enforcing a blanket rule that required drivers to self-censor would be unrealistic.
“I can’t imagine that they want to restrict any of us from any of our views,” he said, per Racer. “This is part of freedom of speech. We have our right to share our views across whatever platform we wish. So I don’t see this being a concern moving forward.
“We’re not going to limit our views or our thoughts because of some silly regulations — we’re all here to have free speech and share whatever views we may have.”
Russell, who is also a director of the Grand Prix Drivers Association, said he expected a pre-season clarification to restore the drivers’ rights to free speech.
“I’m sure the situation is going to be clarified,” he said. “I hope and trust it will be resolved before the first race.
“I’m not too sure why the FIA have taken a stance like this. I think it’s totally unnecessary in the sport and the world we live in at the moment. Naturally we are seeking clarification, and I trust it will be resolved.
“I’d like to think it’s been some kind of misunderstanding, but on that I’m not too sure.”
The stand-off is the latest source off friction between the FIA and the drivers and sport itself after a year of on and off-track tension under president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who ascended to the top job early last year.
Frustrations have become so extreme that the governing body was sent a legal warning from F1 management over a series of tweets from the president about the sport’s value following a rumour that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund was attempting to buy it for US$20 billion.
Earlier this month Ben Sulayem said he would be handing over day-to-day administration of the sport to a newly appointed director of single-seaters, Nikolas Tombazis, as the culmination of a long-planned restructure of the FIA’s governance structure.
While reduced involvement from the president will take some of the heat out of the relationship between the governing body and the sport, Ben Sulayem will continue to be involved in high-level decision-making for Formula 1.
