The FIA forbids drivers to comment on various political and sensitive topics without approval!

The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) has banned all drivers, including at Formula One level, from making any neutral political, religious or personal statements or comments without prior permission. Drivers may even face sanctions, what else do they have to comply with?

The main motorsport governing body has recently updated its version of the International Sporting Code, in which we can find one new offence from 2023. This concerns various political comments or statements on sensitive social issues.

As already reported by the well-known site Motorsport, the new article 12.2.1 states that drivers commit an offence if they make “general statements and displays of political, religious and personal statements or comments which are particularly contrary to the general principle of neutrality promoted by the FIA under its statutes, unless this has been approved in advance in writing by the FIA for international competitions or by the relevant ASN for national competitions within their jurisdiction.”

The FIA’s change comes after various statements and gestures made by drivers in Formula 1 in recent years. Whether it was Lewis Hamilton’s aforementioned response to the incident and killing of Breonna Taylor or Sebastian Vettel’s actions with regards to ecology.

It was the actions of the seven-time champion that was one of the most prominent within this theme. Motorsport takes the opportunity to explain what actually happened at the time and what exactly Hamilton was reacting to with his shirt.

“Taylor was a black medical technician from Louisville, Kentucky, who was shot dead by police in her home after she attempted to serve a search warrant during a drug investigation.

Her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired at the officers, believing them to be intruders, and they returned fire. Taylor was shot eight times and died of her wounds. Walker recently settled a lawsuit with authorities over the matter.”

Hamilton and Vettel the main reasons for the investigation

Hamilton, in particular, has been pushing hard for diversity or actively fighting racism in Formula One. However, his aforementioned act was, according to the FIA, the reason for the review.

The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile then enshrined in the regulations that drivers can only wear their overalls on the podium and in interviews.

However, the British motorsport legend is not the only one who has used the T-shirt to promote any issue. Four-time champion Vettel, who was fined in Hungary last year for not removing his “Same Love” T-shirt before a race, did something similar.

In Canada, he protested against tar sands mining by wearing a T-shirt with the words “Stop Tar Sands Mining – Canada’s Climate Crime” on his helmet, referring to oil sands mining in Alberta.

So what does the FIA statement say?

The new regulations also state that drivers must strictly adhere to podium protocols and may even face penalties if they fail to do so. This is if the FIA’s guidelines regarding the appointment and participation of persons at official ceremonies at any event counted in the FIA championship are not followed,” the official FIA statement reads.

The FIA spokesperson then added that the ISC update is “in line with the political neutrality of sport as a universal fundamental ethical principle of the Olympic Movement, which is enshrined in the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Code of Ethics, together with the principle of universality set out in Article 1.2.”.

F1, FIA, Motorsport, ESPN