https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/jan/10/ben-sulayem-warns-drivers-not-to-use-f1-for-private-personal-agenda
Formula One drivers must not use the platform provided by the sport to
make statements for their own “personal agenda”, the FIA president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, said on Tuesday.
Formula One drivers will need prior written permission from the sport’s governing body to make “political, religious and personal statements”
from next season following an update of the International Sporting Code
in December. Unless the FIA grants approval in writing, drivers who make
such statements will now be in breach of the rules.
“We are concerned with building bridges. You can use sport for peace
reasons … but one thing we don’t want is to have the FIA as a platform
for private personal agenda,” Ben Sulayem said. “We will divert from the sport. What does the driver do best? Driving. They are so good at it,
and they make the business, they make the show, they are the stars.
Nobody is stopping them.
“There are other platforms to express what they want. Everybody has this
and they are most welcome to go through the process of the FIA, to go
through that.”
The former champions Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel were among the high-profile drivers who made such statements in recent seasons.
Hamilton has stood up for human rights and racial equality while also addressing LGBTQ+ rights in conservative countries like Saudi Arabia
which has held two races since 2021. Vettel, who retired last year, has highlighted issues from LGBTQ rights to climate change.
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