Thanks to a change by motor racing’s governing body, F1 drivers are now required to get prior written permission from the International Automobile Federation (FIA) to make ‘political statements.’ That’s a change that McLaren CEO Zak Brown appears to be a big fan of.
The new clause says “the general making and display of political, religious and personal statements or comments notably in violation of the general principle of neutrality promoted by the FIA under its statutes.”
Mercedes’ seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton and the now-retired Sebastian Vettel have led the way in social justice awareness and human rights messaging during races in recent years. Along with bringing attention to the murder of Breonna Taylor and LGBTQ+ rights, Hamilton has made calls for human rights improvements in Saudi Arabia. Coincidentally, FIA’s current president is Mohammed Ben Sulayem of the United Arab Emirates.
Meanwhile, Brown told ESPN that he thinks it’s a good thing because F1 was becoming too political for his liking.
“It’s tricky, right? Because some of the topics are really good, some are controversial, some are polarising,” said Brown. “I think in general we want to be a sport that is doing good. We just need to find a balance there and not have every start of a race being a new political agenda for someone. I don’t think that’s healthy as it can detract from what everyone has tuned in to, which is they want to watch a grand prix.”
Brown added that he’s glad that drivers and teams still have the ability to see if they can make a statement, but does seem to imply that he’d appreciate it if they’d mostly stick to sports, so to speak.
“I’m glad the door is open for drivers and teams to talk to the FIA if there’s an issue they want to discuss. It wasn’t a ‘You can’t do it.’ It was ‘You can’t do it without our permission.’ So at least the door is open,” Brown said.
“Everyone is allowed freedom of speech. It did get out of control at times with so much messaging going on … does it detract from the focus of the sport? These drivers can do this stuff in their own time, so I think it is within Formula One and the FIA’s right to say here’s the code of conduct we expect for you to follow during a grand prix weekend. You’re free to do whatever you want to do Monday through to Friday, so to speak, but obviously it’s at a grand prix weekend the drivers have the most cameras on them.”
Ultimately, Brown doesn’t want to see Formula 1 become a “political sport,” whatever that means.
“I think that’s what we’re trying to avoid, let’s not turn Formula One into a political sport,” said Brown. “Let’s just go racing and be respectful of where we’re racing.”
The F1 world had some interesting thoughts on Brown’s comments.
“Was hoping this was some verbal fumble but the full quotes are very clear; Brown thinks political expression is a pre-race distraction and shouldn’t have a place in F1. very disappointing, from someone at the helm of multiple motorsport programmes including one w clear messaging,” said writer Hazel Southwell.
https://twitter.com/HSouthwellFE/status/1607818531026132994
“McLaren CEO Zak Brown feels protests and statements got “out of control” on several occasions in recent years.” -Racism -Human rights -Environmental causes I wonder which of these Zak thinks was “out of control?” asked Twitter user Stefan44.
“McLaren CEO Zak Brown feels protests and statements got "out of control" on several occasions in recent years.”
-Racism
-Human rights
-Environmental causes
I wonder which of these Zak thinks was “out of control” ? https://t.co/OZnDl7epRu— Stefan⁴⁴ (@HPP7Strat2) December 27, 2022
“We need to find a balance” = never talk about racism or human rights and just drive the car,” said Twitter user Buc Nasty. “A balance which is always in their favour and they can continue to silence drivers like Lewis forever.”
"We need to find a balance" = never talk about racism or human rights and just drive the car.
A balance which is always in their favour and they can continue to silence drivers like Lewis forever.
Atleast Zak Brown's fake wholesome nice guy act finally came to an end 👍 https://t.co/oWnNnypnYt
— Buc Nasty 🏁 (@premystic) December 27, 2022
[ESPN]
