“No One Will Put Barriers Up, Unless…”: F1 Boss Becomes the Referee As Lewis Hamilton & Co. Try To Avoid the FIA’s Speech Restrictions

Apart from the recent Liberty Media versus FIA confrontation on F1 valuation, the motorsport governing authority has landed itself on hot waters after deciding on the driver’s free speech. In its International Sporting Code clause last December, FIA said that the drivers will need to have written permission before they make political, religious, and personal statements. However, this was met with stern opposition from the drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris, as well as team principal Christian Horner. Amid the controversy, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali becomes the referee with his latest revelation.

Saying he doesn’t want to “overstep“, Domenicali stated that he isn’t a believer in putting a barrier to free speech. TheDomenicali told in a report by Crash.net, “My position is very simple. We race as one. To promote discussion and use our platform in the right way. I do not believe [it is about] preventing the driver from communicating with the community. It is a matter of respect.”

However, there’s a catch. The F1 boss doesn’t like everything the drivers do when taking the advantage of free speech. He further said on this, “What I don’t like is when you say something to attack another. That is wrong. You are a driver. Respect the partners you work with. You need to be balanced. No one will put barriers up. Unless it is political because we are a sport.”

“To highlight attention on certain subjects that are at the center of discussion? No problem. I’m sure the FIA share that view. There are places where you can do it. But respect your partners. You must follow the process,” concluded the Italian executive.

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Notably, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel’s stand on the grid on political, gender identity, and human rights threw FIA in an unsettling place off late. However, they received support from the higher authorities on their stand for the cause.

F1 personalities share different views on free speech

While most of the drivers and bosses went on to slam the FIA restrictions on free speech, David Coulthard did the opposite. However, he didn’t fundamentally praise the entire idea or opposed it totally either.

“It’s a bit like an acceptance speech at the Oscars. If everyone uses the opportunity to make a political statement, there is no issue that is not important to someone. So we either have to mention everything, or maybe it’s better not to say anything at all and concentrate on the sport,” Coulthard said.

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Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris, Valtteri Bottas, Max Verstappen, and Alex Albon were the leading names who called out the FIA rule. As things stand, FIA are yet to relax its stand on the amendment.