Lewis Hamilton refuses to be silenced in FIA political statement row

Lewis Hamilton says “nothing will stop him” speaking out on issues close to his heart, urging the FIA to overturn its “silly” ruling.

The seven-time world champion on Wednesday became the latest, and most high profile, driver to voice concerns about the FIA’s new rule clamping down on “political, religious and personal statements".

Speaking at the launch of Mercedes’ 2023 challenger, the W14, there was a lot of interest in how Hamilton would react to world motorsport’s edict which requires drivers to seek prior written permission from the FIA before speaking out on sensitive topics.

The seven-time world champion has frequently used F1’s platform to speak out on issues such as racial awareness, gender equality and LBTQ rights, often while competing in countries such as Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia where those rights are in the spotlight.

"Nothing will stop me from speaking on the things I am passionate about," Hamilton said. "The sport has a responsibility to speak out and create awareness on important topics, particularly as we are travelling to different places. So nothing changes.”

Formula One has since distanced itself from the FIA’s rules, saying it would never seek to "gag drivers”, and Hamilton said he appreciated recent comments made by F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali.

But he said if the FIA did not reverse its ruling, he would have no hesitation in breaking it, although he stopped short of saying he would be prepared to risk points deductions.

“It would be silly to say I would want to get penalty points for speaking out on things but I am still going to be speaking my mind," Hamilton said. "We still have this platform. The support of Stefano has been amazing and all the drivers have been very much aligned on freedom of speech."

Hamilton’s team-mate George Russell also called the rule “silly” and “totally unnecessary”.

“I’d like to think it will be resolved,” Russell said. “We’re not going to limit our thoughts and voices just because of some silly regulation.”

Hamilton said he felt “refreshed and very centred” in himself, but was cautious on Mercedes’ prospects this year after a terrible 2022, his first-ever season without a race win.

“I wouldn’t say I’m bullish like I was last year. I would say more cautious,” he admitted after the launch of the all-black W14. “I know whatever we’re faced with we have the best team to deal with it. Hopefully we hit the ground running but that’s not always the case. But you don’t suddenly lose the ability to win. Hopefully we’re closer and can close the gap.”

'We want to take the fight to Max [Verstappen] and Red Bull'

There have been rumours that the Mercedes are behind where they wish to be in the wind tunnel. And the admission of team principal Toto Wolff that the ‘narrow sidepod’ design could change as the season wears on also suggests they may not yet be where they want to be.

Wolff, though, insisted the narrow sidepod concept was “not fundamental” to the car’s disappointing performance last year.

“We stayed with the narrow sidepods [for 2023] but you could well see some development from now on that could be coming with the upgrades,” he said. “The sidepods will change. Not very soon but we are looking at solutions. But it's not fundamental [to the overall performance].”

Russell said they had no idea how they would fare relative to their competitors. “We truly don’t know how it’s going to perform,” he said. “We want to take the fight to Max [Verstappen] and Red Bull.”

Pre-season testing takes place in Bahrain next week before the first race of the season in the same country on March 5.