Formula 1 Racing

Hamilton and Vettel downplay Ben Sulayem comments and say they will keep “speaking out” · RaceFans

Hamilton and Vettel downplay Ben Sulayem comments and say they will keep "speaking out" · RaceFans

Lewis Hamilton suggested Mohammed Ben Sulayem may have been misinterpreted in comments made by the FIA president regarding the champion’s promotion of human rights.

Hamilton and fellow Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel, who was also mentioned by Ben Sulayem in the recent interview, said they intend to continue using their status to promote causes they are passionate about.

Ben Sulayem recently compared the pair to former drivers Niki Lauda and Alain Prost, who he said “only cared about driving.”

“Now, Vettel drives a rainbow bicycle, Lewis [Hamilton] is passionate about human rights and Norris addresses mental health,” Ben Sulayem continued.

“Everybody has the right to think. To me, it is about deciding whether we should impose our believes [sic] in something over the sport all the time.”

The FIA president issued a statement yesterday stressing that “promoting sustainability, diversity and inclusion is a key priority of my mandate.”

Hamilton said he had not seen the interview and was wary of taking it at face value.

“I only heard about it this morning,” he said. “I’ve not read it so I don’t really know all that has been said.

“I’m also aware that sometimes things I’ve said have been taken out of context so that maybe has happened. But I heard that he clarified things on social media, which is positive.”

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

“That doesn’t stop us from doing what we’re doing,” Hamilton added. “The sport is continuously growing. We have a bigger audience than ever before, I think it’s gone up by nine percent this year or something.

Change is “moving at a very slow pace” – Hamilton

“It continues to be an important platform to use our voices, every single one of us here, within the industry, within our companies, to do more, to speak out more on things, to spark more conversations.”

His Mercedes team have added graphics showing their support for LGBTQ+ inclusion at this weekend’s…

Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at RaceFans…