Lewis Hamilton lashes out over F1 edict: 'Nothing will stop me'

Seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton says rules introduced by the FIA preventing drivers from making political statements will not stop him from doing so. Hamilton and several other drivers have raised concerns about the clause inserted by the FIA into the International Sporting Code preventing them from making 'political, religious and personal statements' without written approval.

The FIA move caught most of the grid off-guard, particularly since F1 and drivers had quickly reached a united front for the 'We Race as One' campaign in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. Several drivers have made a name for themselves for their commentary on various social issues, with Hamilton and recently retired four-time drivers champion Sebastian Vettel arguably the most prolific.

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Hamilton has frequently used his platform as one of the world's most successful athletes to shine a light on anti-racism issues and causes, while Vettel has been an outspoken critic of F1's environmental impact in recent years. Drivers have also spoken out against homophobia in various nations.

Drivers could face fines of up to AUD$387,000 for breaking the newly implemented rule, with other punishments as extreme as the suspension of their competition license. Many of the drivers, Hamilton included, said the possibility of a fine would not be a deterrent.

"Nothing will stop me from speaking on the things that I’m passionate about and on issues that there are," Hamilton said at the launch of Mercedes' 2023 car, the W14. The sport does have a responsibility still to speak out, to create awareness on important topics, particularly as we travel to all these different places. So nothing changes for me.

"I think it would be silly to say that I would want to get penalty points for speaking out on things, 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."

Hamilton hasn't been alone in speaking out against the newly implemented rule, with Mercedes teammate George Russell, McLaren's Lando Norris and Williams' Alex Albon all going on record stating they'd have no problem going against the FIA edict. For a driver like Hamilton, a fine worth hundreds of thousands of dollars is easily brushed off thanks to a multi-million dollar salary.

F1 drivers speak out against FIA 'free speech' issue

Albon, set to enter his second season with Williams, said the insertion of the new clause flew in the face of various public statements made by F1 in the past few years. In addition to the 'We Race as One' campaign, F1 also introduced the 'Purpose Driven' campaign several years ago.

“On a personal side it is somewhat confusing,” Albon said. “We were very much for ‘We Race as One’ and all these kinds of situations, and so now it seems like the FIA are trying to go away from that.

“A lot of people come to us and look at us as spokespeople for issues around the world and I do feel like it is a responsibility for drivers to make people aware of these kinds of situations. We’re all concerned.”

Norris told The Guardian that it was almost as though the drivers were being treated as children, having to first get permission to say anything on any given issue. He said he'd be happy to cop a fine from the FIA if the issue was of great enough importance.

“I don’t know what the penalty is. If it’s a fine, I am probably happy to break it,” he said. “If it’s a bit more, then maybe not, but it depends — at certain times there are things you are going to want to say which maybe they won’t allow but I think that will only be a positive thing for whatever that circumstance is.

“We are not at school, we shouldn’t have to ask about everything: ‘Can we do this? Can we do that?’. We are grown up enough to make smart decisions. Enough drivers have said things now to push back.”

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