“I don’t like how he’s expressed it” : Lewis Hamilton criticizes FIA President Ben Sulayem’s ‘racial’ comments
Ahead of this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, FIA President Ben Sulayem pointed out that he needs to make some changes which will lead to the use of less explicit language broadcast by FOM (Formula One Management), as they have the power to control F1 sessions.
This change would have been met with no controversies, if not for the way the Emirati described his wish, which has led to many serious criticisms being passed on.
“We have to differentiate between our sport – motorsport – and rap music. We’re not rappers, you know. They say the F-word how many times per minute? We are not on that. That’s them and we are [us],” said the 62-year-old (via Autosport).
Although Sulayem’s main concern was already understood, it has been overshadowed by his way of describing this event. Many around the world of F1 have stated their opinions on this matter, including the main stars of the show like Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris.
“I think those were the wrong choice of words” : Lewis Hamilton stages his concern over the FIA President’s remarks
When asked about his point of view in this matter, the Briton first expressed that he understood the concern of Sulayem, but then quickly frowned about the way it was expressed. Hamilton also reflected that the example provided by the FIA President was stereotypical and on the ‘racial’ side.
“With what he said, I don’t like how he expressed it,” Hamilton said. “Saying rappers is very stereotypical as most rappers are black. It really kind of points towards ‘we are not like them’, so I think those were the wrong choice of words and there’s a racial element there,” said the Briton.
“I agree things need clearing up a bit but it is also good to have some emotion as we are not robots.” the 39-year-old added.
Apart from the seven-time world champion, the current frontrunners to win this year’s championship, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris have also voted against the Emirati boss’s words, reflecting upon the fact that swearing eventually occurs during races, and that the broadcasters should do a better job in handling them.
“I think you will swear anyway. If it’s not in this room maybe somewhere else. Everyone swears, some people a bit more than others.” the three-time world champion said.
“They can just not play the radios. We are the guys in the heat of the moment, under stress, under pressure, having big crashe,.” revealed Norris.
The team radio is one of the most important aspects during a race, and when the going gets tough, drivers tend to pull out their more explicit side due to the pressure they are dealing with in the circuit.
