The FIA have been accused of targeting Lewis Hamilton with their most recent rule change, which will see political gestures forbidden unless they have been approved by the FIA.
Hamilton often uses his fame and exposure to campaign against important issues in the world such as inequality and racism.
The Brit wore a t-shirt to the 2020 Tuscan Grand Prix which read “Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor”, and following the killing of George Floyd, wore ‘Black Lives Matter’ shirts and often took the knee in pre-race ceremonies.
The tweak in regulations this season will see Hamilton banned from making any such gesture, unless he has previously been granted approval by the FIA.
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Liberal Democrat life peer Paul Scriven has slammed the FIA for silencing their most outspoken driver, suggesting that they simply wish to keep their relationships with countries such as Bahrain and Saudi Arabia intact, despite their questionable human rights laws.
Red Bull chief advisor Helmut Marko has now spoken out about this regulation change, suggesting the silencing the drivers is the wrong thing to do.
“This decision is clearly wrong,” Marko told RTL.
“[Drivers] are responsible citizens who are in the global public eye and know how, and what, they have to say.
“In general, we are in a democratic society and everyone can express their opinion.”
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has urged people to wait and see how this rule in enforced, claiming that from all of Mercedes’ encounters with the FIA, they seem to have the drivers’ best interests at heart.
Wolff has however confirmed that Hamilton will most likely address the issue when he returns from his off-season adventures in Antarctica, where he recently celebrated his 38th birthday.
This is not the first time that Helmut Marko has slated the FIA for their treatment of Hamilton, previously claiming that the decision to ban the drivers from wearing jewellery was wrong.
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“I think they have gone too far,” he said at the time. “This should be a personal decision of the drivers.
“I don’t remember how long Hamilton has been in F1, but he has been wearing this jewellery all these years. So why did they suddenly decide to invent this topic?
“Do I side with Hamilton? Yes I do, and this is my honest opinion.”