Formula One drivers ordered to seek permission for ‘political statements’

Formula One (F1) drivers will now have to seek permission from their sports’ governing body, the International Automobile Federation (FIA), to make “political statements” in the 2023 season, according to an update to the body’s code. 

The new clause in the International Sporting Code issued by the FIA on Wednesday forbids “the general making and display of political, religious and personal statements or comments notably in violation of the general principle of neutrality promoted by the FIA under its Statutes” without permission from the FIA. 

The FIA wrote that drivers who make any political statements will be in breach of the rules unless the governing body has granted permission for drivers to make political statements. 

The latest changes come as the FI has seen popular drivers such as Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel use their platforms to make political statements during races in recent seasons, according to The Guardian.

Hamilton, a seven-time F1 champion, has used his platform in recent years to call for awareness of causes such as Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ rights and to speak up on police brutality and racial inequality amid the slew of high-profile killings of Black Americans by police officers during the summer of 2020. 

F1 also launched an anti-racism initiative at that time to encourage more diversity in the series, with F1 CEO Chase Carey saying in a statement at the time that “as a global sport we must represent the diversity and social concerns of our fans, but we also need to listen more and understand what needs to be done and get on with delivering.”