[imagesource: Flickr]

Not wanting to detract from the sport of racing, the FIA has introduced new rules and regulations in an attempt to deter ‘political protests’ by their drivers.

Such as the infamous “Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor” T-shirt Lewis Hamilton wore during the 2020 Grand Prix.

Hamilton has been an outspoken supporter of the BLM movement, with his public displays of support often being at odds with existing rules in F1, as well as with some of his fellow drivers, specifically Romain Grosjean.

The Swiss-French driver has raised the ire of Hamilton by stating that he believed BLM to be a political movement, and therefore not the innocent social movement Hamilton believes they are.

As with most refusals to abide by BLM’s dictates, the opposition to continued support from other drivers has been lambasted by Hamilton. Speaking about the knee-taking by drivers in the first race of the season, the British F1 champion said:

“I don’t know why they’ve [FIA, F1] only done it for the first race, at the start. They’ve not done it since then. They’ve come out saying they’re going to be fighting for diversity and to end racism, but they’re not giving us the platform to continue that. It’s all rushed.”

Hamilton, a seven-time World Champion and the first black F1 racing driver, recently lost the activist support of Sebastian Vettel, who announced his retirement.

The FIA has since introduced rules to curb protesting by drivers, which include requirements such as that drivers must keep their racing suits zipped up completely when taking the podium.

This is obviously in an attempt to hide any pesky political statements that may appear on drivers’ T-shirts. A new article states:

Drivers will be deemed to have committed a breach of the rules if they show or make and display political, religious and personal statements or comments notably in violation of the general principle of neutrality promoted by the FIA under its Statutes, unless previously approved in writing by the FIA for International Competitions, or by the relevant ASN for National Competitions within their jurisdiction.

Hamilton’s team is ‘deeply concerned’ over the new rules and fears that it may lead to the driver receiving a race ban in the upcoming seasons. According to Rob Koehler, chief executive at Global Athlete:

“Freedom of expression is a basic fundamental human right and sport rules cannot supersede human rights. Many people look up to athletes as agents of change. The example set by the FIA is that every child, youth and adult watching the sport should remain silent on social justice issues. It is simply wrong. Shame on the FIA.”

To which the FIA president, Ben Sulayem, responded:

“What does the driver do best? Driving. They are so good at it, and they make the business, they make the show, they are the stars. Nobody is stopping them. There are other platforms to express what they want.”

It seems shots have been fired, and hashtags will follow soon.

[source:thejudge13]