The FIA’s latest restriction on racers making political statements has drawn criticism from the two-time World Champion.
The FIA has prohibited Formula 1 racers from making political statements, but Max Verstappen has criticized this decision.
The International Sporting Code was updated by the governing organization in December, thus prohibiting the display of comments that are “political, religious, and personal” without the FIA’s permission.
Sebastian Vettel, one of the most outspoken racers, stated that he expects other racers “show courage” to speak up for their beliefs and express them.
Valtteri Bottas has indeed expressed his disapproval of the restriction, saying that racers need to have the “right to talk about what we want” and that he cannot see why the FIA “wants to restrict us.”
Zak Brown, the CEO of McLaren, has supported the FIA’s efforts to “find the appropriate balance,” but Toto Wolff, the CEO of Mercedes, believes that there should be “alignment” between the FIA and the racers.
Verstappen: I don’t think there needs to be a ban
Verstappen, a two-time World Champion, believes the restriction is “unnecessary,” but stresses that “all the facts must be correct” before making such statements on the global stage.
“Everyone’s different. Some people are more outspoken than others, “In an interview with Sky Sports, he stated.
“I’m normally not that outspoken of that because first of all its tough as a racing driver to be fully committed to that in terms of going into everything and making sure that you know all the facts.
“But I don’t think it is necessary, because you’re basically making sure that people aren’t allowed to speak anymore, which I think we should be allowed.
“Some people will speak a bit more, some not. But it [the ban] was probably a bit unnecessary.”
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