In Formula One, the superstar drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel not only drove well but also used the platform to spread social awareness. During the Grand Prix races, drivers, mostly only Hamilton and Vettel, used to support social campaigns, like “Black Lives Matter“, LGBTQ rights, climate change, etc., through wearing printed T-shirts or helmets or by giving political statements. However, from 2023 none of the drivers will be able to do any such thing. FIA has imposed a ban on making any political statement as well as giving any personal social message which is not related to sports.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem is constantly changing regulations in Formula One in order to make the sport stable and well-recognized. One of the new regulations includes a ban in making any social or political-related statements. However, the president has no problem if the drivers use another platform to express personal messages. Except on the podiums or on the paddocks of Formula One, they can speak anything anywhere. The ban has been issued in order to be free from any kind of political agenda. People watch F1 for car racing. They keep watching it for racing, and no outer or personal matter should be used for that.
FIA President Explains Why They Imposed The Ban In Making Political Statements
Speaking about the recent ban, Mohammed Ben Sulayem explained, “I am a believer in the sport. We are connected by building bridges. Sports are supposed to be used for peace, entertainment, and other reasons. But the one thing that we do not want to have in the sport is a platform for private personal agenda.” The FIA president believes that the personal agendas used in the sport divert people from the main motive.
FIA president wants the drivers to do things they best, that is driving! He said, “The drivers are so good in racing, they make the business [good]. They create the show, they are definitely the stars. Nobody is stopping them [from becoming the star of the sports by performing well in the races].” He also explained that the drivers are free to use other platforms to express whatever they want to. “They are most welcome to go through the process of the governing body of Formula One, to go through that,” he added.
For the reasons why FIA had to implement such a ban, Mohammed Ben Sulayem said, “FIA needed to be neutral.” He explains the reasons more specifically. The president says if I have my own personal things, I can’t use the FIA to share them. He believes that the drivers are celebrities who need to make the sport neutral. When they do their duty, people already enjoy it a lot. This is what FIA wants from Formula One.
Meanwhile, the one driver who is going to suffer from the ban is none other than Lewis Hamilton. Now that Vettel is gone, only Hamilton alone will have to face the consequences, as no other driver makes political statements.
