Lewis Hamilton has had a hugely positive impact all over the world in recent seasons, as the Brit regularly goes above and beyond to speak out against various injustices in the world.
The seven-time world champion wore a t-shirt at the 2020 Tuscan Grand Prix calling for the arrest of the police officers who killed a black woman named Breonna Taylor when attempting to raid her home.
Hamilton has also joined Sebastian Vettel in displaying a rainbow on his helmet or on a t-shirt during races in the Middle East, making a huge political gesture to protest against the illegality of homosexuality.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has told the drivers to stick to driving over the winter break, claiming the F1 should not provide a platform for private personal agenda.
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The FIA have now introduced a new rule which bans any unapproved political, personal or religious gestures, a rule which many claim is targeting Hamilton specifically.
While Valtteri Bottas, Lando Norris and Kevin Magnussen have been some of the drivers to speak out against the new rule, it has taken until this week for Lewis Hamilton to address the issue.
In a recent video call interview, the Brit has claimed that the new rule will not stop him from speaking out on what he believes is right, having heard about the introduction of the new ban during his off-season adventures.
“I wasn’t really watching the news over the winter but I heard it,” he said.
“It doesn’t surprise me, but nothing will stop me from speaking on the things that I’m passionate about and issues that there are.
“I feel the sport does have a responsibility still always to speak out on things, to create awareness on important topics, particularly as we’re travelling to all these different places.
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“So nothing really changes.”
It has been suggested that the FIA are attempting to silence Hamilton to keep the likes of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia happy, countries whose influence in F1 is growing year after year.
Lando Norris and Kevin Magnussen have both claimed that they would also not hesitate to break the new rule if there was an important issue to speak out about, but have admitted that it is currently unclear what the punishment will be.