Lewis Hamilton has admitted he is ready to break the FIA’s new rules on free speech as he continues to use his voice to highlight issues he is passionate about. Drivers are open to penalties if they speak out with a race ban among the sanctions available, something the Mercedes man is happy to risk.
The FIA introduced new rules for the upcoming season that would limit the amount that drivers are able to speak openly on controversial issues. The degree prohibits “personal, religious and political statements” without written consent something which is likely to impact Hamilton more than most as one of the most vocal men in the paddock.
The Brit champions a number of causes most notably black rights and representation while he is also a prominent supporter of the LGBTQ+ community.
The seven-time world champion has insisted that nothing will stop him from speaking out as he becomes the latest driver to speak out against the FIA’s plans.
“Nothing will stop me from speaking on the things I am passionate about,” Hamilton explained after the Mercedes 2023 car launch. “The sport has a responsibility to speak out and create awareness on important topics, particularly as we are travelling to different places. So nothing changes.”
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The FIA have said they will write to the teams to clarify what the rules mean in practice after a number of other drivers including Alex Albon and Lando Norris spoke out about them. It is unclear what penalties could be given out to those who do not comply but a race ban is among the options available.
Hamilton has admitted this is something that he is prepared to risk as he stands true to what he believes in.
“I think It would be silly to say that I would want to get penalty points for speaking out on things,” he said. “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 issue was one of a series of controversies that led to FIA chief Mohammed Ben Sulayem stepping back from his day-to-day involvement in Formula One, a decision he announced via a letter to all 10 teams last week.
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While Hamilton is prepared to stand up to the FIA, he was keen to praise others within Formula One for their actions since the ban was announced, singling out his fellow drivers and F1 boss Stefano Domenicali after he said that the sport would never ‘gag’ them from speaking out on issues.
“The support of Stefano [Domenicali] I think has been amazing. I think all the drivers have been very much aligned on freedom of speech,” he said. “We’re all aligned on that.”
It remains to be seen what the impact of the FIA rules will be when the Formula One season finally gets underway with just under three weeks to go until lights out in the first race of the season in Bahrain.