Lewis Hamilton may agree that the foul language expressed on Formula One team radios should be cleaned up. However, he does not like how FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem expressed his views on the matter.
The FIA wants to limit how much foul language is broadcasted, and Ben Sulayem put some of the responsibility on the drivers. “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),” he told Autosport.
Hamilton made it clear that the FIA president’s choice to use rappers as a comparison was “very stereotypical.”
“You think about most rappers are black. That really kind points it towards, when it says we’re not like them. So I think those are the wrong choice of words, there’s a racial element there.”
It’s not the first time Ben Sulayem has made a contentious remark. Since being elected in his role in 2021, he’s faced numerous controversies, the most recent coming earlier this year. The FIA president was cleared by the organization’s ethics committee over allegations of interfering with the race result of the 2023 Saudi Arabian GP and that he threatened to prevent the approval of the Las Vegas street circuit. Last winter, the FIA launched an investigation into Toto and Susie Wolff over an alleged conflict of interest claim, and it finished after two days. The FIA confirmed that “appropriate protective measures are in place to mitigate any potential conflicts.”
Earlier this year, during the Australian GP weekend, Hamilton and Mercedes team-mate George Russell were asked whether Ben Sulayem had their backing. “He never has,” the seven-time world champion said.
But when it comes to the language used on team radios, he does feel it needs to be cleaned up. The Briton said Thursday in Singapore, “When I was 22, I didn’t think of it as much and it was more your emotions are just firing, and you’re saying whatever comes to mind, forgetting how many people are listening and the kids that are listening, all those kinds of things. I agree in that sense that you listen to some of the younger drivers, and they’ve not got it yet. And at some stage, they probably will. I’m sure if you put, like there’s penalties for it, people will stop it. I don’t know whether that’s something that’s needed. I definitely think there is a little bit too much of it.”
Hamilton tends to be one of the more careful drivers when it comes to using foul language on the radio. He said the drivers are “not robots” and “it’s good to have some emotions.” But he keeps his radio clean because of his position.
“The way I control it is because there’s like over 2,000 people that are working towards me having this position and being where I am. I’ve got a lot of followers of all ages. It’s not about me,” the Mercedes driver said. “And even though I’m having this experience on-track, what I do and what I say affects all those people who are sacrificing time with their families, who are giving absolutely everything to have this privileged position and opportunity. I think it’s just understanding that, and putting the aggression somewhere else.
“That’s what I try and do.”
Additional reporting by Luke Smith
(Top photo: Clive Mason/Getty Images)
