As a controversy broke at the Singapore Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton took offense to a “racial” remark made by FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
Hamilton expressed his displeasure after Ben Sulayem intimated that motorsport’s regulatory body might try to tighten down on drivers who swore during team radio transmissions broadcast during live TV coverage of races.
Many drivers dismissed Ben Sulayem’s ideas. Formula One administrators have been asked to tighten the language used by drivers, but Hamilton has been left the most disappointed.
In an interview with Autosport.com, the FIA boss stated that motorsport was not “rap music” and that drivers should use appropriate language, especially if children are present.
Swearing on F1 team radio is already bleeped before being transmitted on a delayed stream, but Ben Sulayem wants to reduce the amount of censorship required.
“We have to differentiate between our sport — motorsport — and rap music,” Ben Sulayem told reporters.
BAKU, AZERBAIJAN – SEPTEMBER 15: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes walks around the paddock before the F1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan at Baku City Circuit on September 15, 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
“We aren’t rappers, you know. How many times do they say the F-word every minute? We’re not on that. “That’s them, and we’re us,” Ben Sulayem explained.
Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, did not like Ben Sulayem’s connection to rap music.
“I don’t like how he articulated it; calling them ‘rappers’ is really clichéd. “And most rappers are black,” Hamilton stated.
“That was an incorrect choice of words. There is a racial aspect there.”
However, he stated that he has no objections if the sport attempts to discipline drivers for swearing.
“I’m sure if you say there are penalties for it, people will stop (swearing),” Hamilton told reporters in Singapore.
“I don’t know whether that is needed, but I definitely think there is a little bit too much.”
Leading drivers, including world champion Max Verstappen, have declared they will not heed to Ben Sulayem’s request.
Verstappen, who is no stranger to a fruity outburst, told reporters that if the FIA didn’t like what drivers said during a race, they should just not broadcast it.
“What are we?” Five-year-olds? “Six-year-olds?” the Red Bull driver inquired.
Lewis Hamilton appears at the 2024 Met Gala.
“Even if a five-year-old or six-year-old is watching, they will eventually swear anyway when they grow up.”
Lando Norris concurred with Verstappen, stating that F1 “can just not play the radios.”
“We’re the guys in the middle of the action… So it’s far simpler for them to say than for us to execute,” the McLaren driver said.
“We are simply pouring our passion into it. You are listening to drivers’ genuine thoughts and feelings.
“When I listen to it, I find it cool and I find it exciting.” According to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, profane language occurs in a variety of sports, but F1 is unique in that drivers are equipped with microphones.
“I think there are other priorities for the FIA at the moment,” Leclerc told the crowd. “I would return the favor to the FIA by asking them to remove some of our negative remarks and reduce the amount of coverage. And it’s fairly simple to do.
“For us to control our words when you are driving a car at 300 kilometres per hour in between walls is tricky,” he further explained.
“And we are humans after all.”
— With AFP
