“I Don’t Care if I Don’t Win…”: Openly Defiant Lewis Hamilton Comes Out Firing to Pressure FIA Into Taking an Crucial Decision

Formula 1 drivers strive to create a niche for themselves in this sport. Be that as it may, in this global age of reverence this sport seeks, it is more important to grow this niche beyond the realms of the paddock. Drivers like Lewis Hamilton have led the charge for societal prosperity by actively lending their voices and massive platform to various causes. In the past, there was another protagonist in this story, 4x champion Sebastian Vettel. However, since his retirement, there remains only a lone warrior for human and civil rights within the sport, and he has a mountain to climb this time around.

At the start of the year, the FIA, the governing body of the sport, came with a bountiful load of changes for the coming seasons. But amongst them, there was one particular edict that caught massive flak from fans, drivers, and paddock regulars alike. Under the stewardship of Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the FIA amended the International Sporting Code. The Code was tweaked to the effect that it banned all the drivers from making any political, religious, or personal statements. These statements could be made, but only under the strict permission of Sulayem himself.

In a roundabout way, this rule change has a colossal impact on the plans Hamilton has in this sport. It is no secret that other than the pure love of racing, the 7x champion is still in the sport because he believes it affords him a platform to speak up against and for issues close to him. But with this new clampdown on free speech, does Hamilton plan to abandon it all?

Hamilton sat down to chat about the upcoming season on The Fast and The Curious podcast. When quizzed about the state the sport finds itself in now, he said, “It is so important that someone speaks out on it and I don’t care if I don’t win another race I’m going to speak on those things whether people like it or not.”

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This isn’t the first time the Brit has taken a stance against the FIA, and it surely won’t be the last.

Lewis Hamilton takes yet another stand against the FIA

Amongst the whole host of changes the sport plans to bring about in the coming years, stands one particularly interesting one. By next year, the FIA wants to completely do away with the tire blankets. These blankets currently keep the tires warmed to a certain temperature that helps with a grip from the very beginning. Banning this would throw the cat amongst the pigeons.

Hamilton isn’t a fan of this idea, though. He was quoted by Express UK as saying, “I’ve tested the no blankets, and there is going to be an incident at some stage. So, I think it is the wrong decision. The more concern is when you go out: you are skating around and it is very twitchy. If someone else is on tyres that are working, you can easily collide with them.”

“So, it is a pointless exercise.”

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Can Lewis Hamilton single-handedly deconstruct the FIA’s regulation changes?