Earlier this month, the FIA released a statement saying that they have imposed a ban on drivers making any political, religious or personal statement that isn’t non neutral. This means that drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel who wore t-shirts that displayed support to various causes, won’t be able to starting 2023.
Vettel is not in F1 anymore, but fans are sure that he will continue speaking out against various issues off the track. Hamilton meanwhile, may be forced to comply with these new rules, otherwise he may be given penalties, fines or even a potential race ban. However, if we are to go by Hamilton’s previous statements, it doesn’t seem likely he will care what the FIA does to him.
In 2020, the world was outraged and grieving over the death of Breonna Taylor’s killing. A lot of celebrities came out to protest against it including numerous famous athletes. Hamilton was one of them, as he wore a t-shirt that had “arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor” written on it. Afterwards, rumors started surfacing that the FIA would penalize the Brit for wearing the t-shirt, but the latter didn’t care.
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Nothing will stop Lewis Hamilton from delivering messages he wants to deliver
Ahead of the 2020 Russian GP, a reporter asked Hamilton about the FIA potentially penalizing him by imposing new rules. The Mercedes ace replied by saying that the rules won’t stop him from saying what he wants to.
“I don’t know what they’re going to do this weekend,” he said. “But lots of rules have been written for me over the years. That hasn’t stopped me.”
Now that the FIA has actually imposed a rule that bans driver from making such statements, it is to be seen if Hamilton actually stands by what he says. However, as we’ve witnessed over the years, the 37-year-old has never been afraid of repercussions when it comes to speaking out against issues that plague the society.
In countries like Qatar and Saudi Arabia (where the LGBTQ+ community are oppressed), he publicly displayed support by wearing a rainbow helmet during the race. Hamilton did that in spite of the FIA and organizing bodies asking him not to. Therefore, it’s safe to assume that Hamilton will definitely have his say on these new rules made up by the FIA earlier this month.
