Lewis Hamilton has said he will continue to speak his mind on important societal issues regardless of the FIA’s clampdown on political protests ahead of the 2023 Formula One season.
In December, the FIA, the sport’s governing body, updated the International Sporting Code with a clause requiring prior written permission for drivers to make or display “political, religious and personal statements or comments.”
F1 boss Stefano Domenicali has said the sport will not allow its drivers to be gagged, but the FIA has the power to hand down financial and sporting penalties if rules are not followed.
Hamilton has been increasingly active in highlighting different issues during race weekends, such as when he wore a shirt saying “Arrest the Cops Who Killed Breonna Taylor” before and after the Tuscan Grand Prix in 2020, and he said no rule would make him change his approach.
“It doesn’t surprise me,” Hamilton said of the FIA decision, in a media session after the launch of Mercedes’ 2023 car. “But nothing will stop me from speaking on the things that I’m passionate about, and on issues that there are.
“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.”
It remains unclear what the penalty for protesting without written permission will be.
McLaren’s Lando Norris predicted that the opposition from F1’s drivers and Domenicali would lead to a U-turn on the ruling.
When asked whether he would risk a sporting penalty to make a political protest or highlight a particular issue without permission, Hamilton said: “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.
“The support from Stefano has been amazing, and I think all of the drivers have been very much aligned on freedom of speech.”