Lewis Hamilton says he does not care “if I don’t win another race” in Formula 1 and insists he’s “going to speak” on political issues “whether people like it or not”.
F1 drivers’ positions as political advocates has been a hot topic during the off-season following an update to the FIA’s International Sporting Code that restricts competitors from making political statements without the governing body’s permission.
No driver has been punished for violating this yet. The FIA recently clarified the scope of its new regulations, and confirmed drivers could face sporting penalties up to disqualification or exclusion for violating them.
Several F1 drivers, including Hamilton, have said ahead of the start of their season that they will continue to speak out if they choose to.
“I always say that I feel that we need more empathy and compassion in the world,” said Hamilton in an interview with motorsport podcast The Fast and the Curious.
“There are all these things that people are finding challenging within different countries, through governments.”
The seven-times world champion said he feels “a huge responsibility” to exploit his profile as one of the world’s most famous sportspeople.
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“This is a platform to really spark change, spark conversation, which is I think the beginning of those things,” he said.
“Sparking those uncomfortable conversations, and then holding people accountable who have been happy with the status quo in the past which has held people down, which has made people not included, and that frustrates me. And it goes into that kind of fear thing.
“We can make change, and I want to be a part of helping that and making people feel more included.”
Many F1 drivers in the past have been involved in charitable endeavours away from the race track, while others have lent their name and their finances to karting initiatives, often in their home countries.
In the last few years there has been more attention on what drivers have said and done during grand prix weekends. Hamilton and the now retired Sebastian Vettel have become known for highlighting political concerns in the countries F1 raced in.
“Motorsport, for example, or any sport of business, shouldn’t be able to continue with not being diverse,” Hamilton added.
“There’s not enough access for people from that [LGBTQ+] community, there’s not enough access. You don’t see a lot of people with disabilities within [our paddock]. When have you ever seen someone working in our industry with disabilities?
“There’s so many things we need to challenge and fix. And also we’re going to a lot of countries where they have these challenging human rights issues where humans just are not treated as human beings.
“In the past people just brushed by it, and it’s not important. It is so important that someone speaks out on it. 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.”
The seven-times world champion stands as the most successful F1 driver of all time in terms of race wins, with 103 to his name. However he endured his first ever win-less campaign last year.
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