A day after the imposition of a ban on public expressions of “political, religious or personal views” by F1 drivers without prior approval from the FIA, and amid widespread backlash from fans of the sport and the international media, the federation issued the statement, saying man would expect.

The FIA ​​​​explained through a spokesman: “The International Code of Competitions has been updated to align with the political neutrality of sport as a global fundamental ethical principle of the Olympic Movement, enshrined in the Code of Conduct of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) with the in Article 1.2 defined principle of universality”.

So far, no driver in the FIA ​​championships – because the ban covers them all – and thus also in Formula 1, have not expressed any public reactions. However, a first reaction came from across the Atlantic from the driver of IndyCar’s Dalton Cullet.

The 29-year-old Canadian wrote on social media: “When I first started racing, the FIA ​​struck me as a necessary (even commendable) organization that wanted to improve safety and protect fair competition. Today it has become a tedious and bloated bureaucratic swamp. You need to gauge its scope and reach.”

The events that led to the ban

In Formula 1, the problem of drivers publicly voicing personal views on social issues began to escalate since the 2020 Tuscany GP, when Lewis Hamilton ordered a t-shirt reading ‘Police arrest Briona’ after the African man’s murder Killed Taylor” -American woman in Kentucky, USA in March of this year.

Later, at the Hungarian Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel wore a rainbow t-shirt with the phrase “Same Love” to the starting ceremony in support of the rights of the LGBTQI+ community – in response to the community government’s new anti-LGBTQ legislation . In both cases, the FIA ​​​​reacted: They ordered the drivers to wear only their team’s equipment on the podium and punished Vettel with a reprimand.

But Hamilton and Vettel didn’t stop there. As well as being a leader in promoting the Black Lives Matter movement, the Briton has also sported a rainbow helmet symbolizing the Progress Pride and LGBTQI+ flag at the last three 2021 Arabian GPs – Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi Community human rights struggle in countries that maintain criminal laws against their members.

“It’s important to me to represent this community here because I know there are many situations that aren’t perfect and need to be brought to light,” Lewis said in Qatar last year. “But I hope someone makes the move and I’d love to know what’s going on here and what steps are being taken to support this community, the LGBTQI+ community. I’m waiting to hear.”

Vettel has continued to raise the issue at other GPs, organizing a women’s kart race in Saudi Arabia in December 2021 to contribute to gender equality efforts. This year, at the Miami GP and elsewhere, the German rider has also – with t-shirts and messages on his helmet – addressed the need to combat climate change.

In addition to the two drivers, Mercedes F1 Director Toto Wolff was also introduced to the topic at this year’s Abu Dhabi GP. The Austrian said such initiatives “can lead to change because things can no longer be hidden. We can try to show our presence wherever we go, to communicate with the leadership and not to hide. We can not [να κρυβόμαστε]while we’re here.”

Until the current ban, which will come into effect from 2023 and give the FIA ​​the power to impose penalties on any driver who expresses an opinion on “political, religious or personal” issues without their consent, the FIA ​​​​has not included such penalties in its regulations . At Mugello in 2020, then-race director Michael Massi told drivers that “the FIA ​​supports any form of personal expression consistent with the fundamental principles of its regulations”.

The basic principle of the FIA ​​is neutrality. The regulations state that “FIA ​​promotes the protection of human rights and human dignity and refrains from any form of discrimination based on race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, national or social origin, language, religion, philosophical or political opinion, marital status or disability . The FIA ​​​​will focus on under-represented groups to achieve more gender and racial representation and create a more diverse and inclusive culture.”

The FIA-FIFA alignment

The current FIA ban comes just weeks after the events of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. For months – and throughout its duration – the soccer World Cup was at the center of criticism of the Arab country’s respect for human rights.

According to a 2021 report by Amnesty International, workers in Qatar “continued to face workplace abuse” while homosexuality is still a criminal offense in the country. Against this background, many participants in the World Cup – athletes and non-athletes alike – spoke out publicly: some with their public statements, some journalists with their accounts, still others wore the rainbow armband “One Love”.

FIFA responded to these phenomena by stating that such statements were not allowed, threatening match penalties (such as yellow cards for footballers) and urging everyone to “stay true to football”. But the scale of the problem has made it almost impossible for FIFA to sweep these critical social issues under the rug and “focus everyone on football”.

The reaction from football fans on social media has been fierce, with many citing the example of the rainbow helmet Hamilton wore at last year’s Qatar GP, the country’s first host country in a decade, the contract with Formula One starting in 2023.

But the reactions did not stop on the social media platforms. The players of the Germany national team covered their mouths in their group photo just before the cross in their first World Cup match against rivals Japan – with the aim of “signaling that FIFA will silence us”. as coach Hansi Flick said.

FIFA’s warning didn’t stop TV commentators or UK Sport Minister Stuart Andrews from wearing the colorful armband in the stands either. And of course it provoked reactions from LGBTI+ communities around the world.

A dangerous way

First FIFA and now the FIA ​​​​chaired by Mohamed Ben Sulayem are opening an extremely dangerous trap for the future of sport. A path that leads to dark places of the past where the expression of personal opinions was not allowed.

FIFA seems to want footballers who just play football and FIA drivers who just drive. But a world star in sport is not just an athlete, and perhaps he shouldn’t be just an athlete: he has the power to be heard – a power almost none of the people around the world have under a regime of unbearable oppression.

One is free to contradict the words of a famous athlete based on one’s personal criteria and opinions. Although it seems difficult to contradict the global demands for the basic rights of everyone on the planet. This includes, among other things, the freedom to express one’s personal opinion.

In the Interlagos of São Paulo, as you have noticed, the technological spaceships of a super wasteful sport cross a wall that hides the favelas at the last turn of the route. When Ayrton Senna — himself the son of a wealthy family — said three decades ago that “the famous in Brazil cannot live on an island in a sea of ​​poverty,” did anyone disagree? Except for a few notable ones?

The parade of Formula 1 wealth in front of the favelas, formerly alongside the slums of India and in every other country where the vast majority of residents live below the poverty line, is ironic to say the least. And that there she travels on, flaunts her wealth, draws what she has to draw and goes, sweeping under the rug everything that is going on around her, to avoid at least pointing out the problems of the people there something much worse. No, companies are not companies.