Lewis Hamilton Calls Out FIA Chief’s ‘Racial Element’ Remark Amid Swearing Crackdown in F1

Lewis Hamilton alleges racial undertones in FIA chief's remarks about "rappers"

Lewis Hamilton criticizes FIA leader Mohammed Ben Sulayem's inappropriate language during a crackdown on profanity.

Lewis Hamilton has charged FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem with introducing a "racial aspect" into his efforts to strictly enforce rules against F1 drivers using profanity.

The head of Formula 1's regulatory organization is seeking to reduce the use of profanity by drivers over the team radio, which subsequently gets broadcasted on F1’s TV channels.

"We need to distinguish our field – motorsport – from rap music," Ben Sulaymen explained to Autosport/Motorsport.

"We don't identify as rappers. You've heard how frequently they use explicit language, right? That's their style, not ours. We're different."

Seven-time world champion Hamilton, who previously disclosed that Ben Sulayem never had his support or trust, expressed concerns over the choice of words by the 62-year-old Emirati, who assumed his position in December 2021.

Hamilton is reported to have criticized Ben Sulayem's comments, highlighting his discomfort with the use of the term 'rappers,' which he finds overly stereotypical, according to statements he made to the press, including PA, in Singapore.

"When you consider it, the majority of rappers are of African American descent, which implies a message of 'we are different from them'. Therefore, I believe that was an inappropriate selection of terminology, indicating an underlying racial aspect."

Hamilton stated, "At 22, I didn't give it much thought. I was led by my emotions, speaking my mind without considering the size of the audience or the fact that children were among the listeners."

Hearing the newer drivers talk, it's clear they haven't grasped it yet. Eventually, they will. Implementing fines for this could certainly put an end to it, and perhaps that's a measure worth considering.

"I certainly believe it's somewhat excessive. I concur that it requires tidying. However, displaying emotion is also beneficial. We aren't machines."

On Thursday morning, current world champion Max Verstappen shared his opinions regarding the FIA's efforts to curb the use of profanity.

Following an incident where the Dutch driver described his Red Bull vehicle using profanity at the previous weekend's race in Baku, presenter Tom Clarkson intervened to offer an apology during the drivers' press conference.

"Verstappen expressed his view, suggesting that a shift is occurring globally. He believes the initial step should involve refraining from publicizing it or eliminating the opportunity for people to be exposed to it in the first place."

Certainly, there exists a plethora of applications where individuals can tune into radio broadcasts and similar content. It might be necessary to impose some restrictions or introduce a slight delay, enabling the filtering out of certain elements.

This approach would be significantly more beneficial than imposing restrictions on drivers, especially considering that, for instance, I wasn't even allowed to utter the f-word. It's not really that serious, is it?

Essentially, the car was malfunctioning; it's completely broken, really. Apologies for my choice of words, but honestly, are we behaving like little children here?

Regardless of whether a child is five or six years old, the reality is that they will likely use swear words at some point, even if their parents don't use such language or strictly prohibit it.

"As they mature, they'll be strolling with their peers, using profanity. Thus, it's clear that nothing is really being altered."

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