After the controversial interview of FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, questioning the presence of political agendas in F1, Lewis Hamilton asked his grid mates to be more sincere about the issues they defend, as Sebastian Vettel has been doing
Lewis Hamilton spoke out about the recent statements of the president of the FIA (International Automobile Federation), Mohammed Ben Sulayem, questioning the political agendas that are constantly taken to the Formula 1 weekends by him and Sebastian Vettel. But instead of giving a direct answer to the president, the seven-time champion preferred to make a direct appeal to his grid mates, demanding a "more frank" position from the drivers.
During the weekend in Monaco, Sulayem gave an interview to the British website GrandPrix247 and was asked about what the sport should not become. The answer, however, did not resonate well at all, as the FIA president used the examples of Sebastian Vettel's "rainbow bike," Hamilton's passion for human rights, and Lando Norris' mental health advocacy speeches to question "whether we should impose our beliefs all the time beyond the sport." "Niki Lauda and Alain Prost only cared about driving," he argued.
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After the release of the story, Sulayem used social networks for a kind of retraction, saying that "diversity and inclusion are priorities in his mandate." Hamilton, however, assured that he will not stop talking about what he thinks and even demanded the same from his colleagues.
"It doesn't stop us from doing what we're doing," said the Mercedes driver when asked by the press about the FIA president's statements. "The sport is constantly growing, we have a bigger audience than ever before, and it remains an important platform for us to use our voices," he stressed.
"Each of us here, within our industry, within our companies, can do and talk more about these issues to generate more conversation," Hamilton continued, then said that he still sees the debate on human rights-related agendas "moving at a very slow pace."
"We need more people using their platforms. I encourage all drivers to be more outspoken in the future about the issues they care about," the owner of the #44 car charged.
In addition to Hamilton, Vettel is another name that has stood up for social causes, especially advocating for the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community. The four-time champion gave a long interview to the British magazine Attitude and said that a gay driver "would help accelerate the elimination of prejudice and push our sport in a better direction."
The German's stance has been widely celebrated by the Mercedes representative, and he was keen to remind that Vettel is not alone in the fight. "I am proud to see what Seb does and to be his ally," Hamilton concluded.