Seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton was not a fan of recent comments made by FIA president Mohamed Ben Sulayem. Hamilton said that there was a "racial element" to the comments made by Sulayem when addressing the FIA's plans to crack down on drivers using profanity over their team radios. In an interview with Motorsport.com, Sulayem had directly compared the use of foul language on F1 race broadcasts to "rap music."
"We have to differentiate between our sport -- motorsport -- and rap music," Sulayem said. "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]."
While Hamilton understood the FIA's desire to cut back on swearing for decency's sake, the seven-time world champion and the most accomplished Black driver in all of motorsports took issue with the racial implications of Sulayem's comparison.
"With what he's saying, I don't like how he's expressed it, saying that rappers is very stereotypical," Hamilton told ESPN. "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. But as I said, I agree with the fact that I think [it needs] cleaning up a little bit."
The relationship between Hamilton and the head of F1's governing body has been strained for some time, as he had expressed prior to the Australian Grand Prix in March that he has "never" supported Sulayem. Those comments came amid controversies surrounding FIA leadership, including the filing of a criminal complaint by F1 Academy boss Susie Wolff over an investigation into an alleged conflict of interest involving herself and Mercedes F1 team leader Toto Wolff.
The FIA's crackdown on profanity has been a major talking point ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix and the late stages of the 2024 F1 season, in which Hamilton currently sits sixth in the World Championship standings with victories in the British and Belgian Grand Prix.
