FIA boss urges Hamilton to stop using races for ‘personal agenda’

Hamilton has been repeatedly drawing the wrath of the FIA president for his campaigns on the weekends, pushing his fellow drivers to take a knee ahead of every race.

FILE PHOTO: Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton talks in a press conference after the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, Italy, on April 18, 2021. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Mohammed ben Sulayem, the president of FIA, has urged Lewis Hamilton to focus on driving instead of protesting a new rule change. Sulayem warned that the drivers will “divert from the sport” if they use weekend races to propagate their personal agendas.

Hamilton has been repeatedly drawing the wrath of the FIA president for his campaigns on the weekends, pushing his fellow drivers to take a knee ahead of every race as a mark of protest against racism.

“You can use sport for peace reasons but one thing we do not want is to have the FIA as a platform for private personal agenda. We will divert from the sport. 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,” said Sulayem.

He also asked drivers to use other platforms to protest.

“There are other platforms to express what they want. Everybody has this and they are most welcome to go through the process of the FIA, to go through that,” he added.

The latest statement came after the FIA banned political statements during races in the 2023 season.