11/01/2023
NEWS STORY
Following the update to the International Sporting Code, FIA president, Mohammed ben Sulayem has made clear that F1 cannot be used as a platform for drivers to promote their various personal agendas.
Though, thankfully, it hasn't yet spread to F1, an increasing number of celebrities, particularly in the vacuous world that is Hollywood, are including the word 'activist' in their bios on social media.
While it had previously become common for celebrities to use their 'star' status for charities, in recent years they have taken more to pushing their own causes in terms of religion, politics and much more.
As the world becomes ever more divided, celebrities have played their part and while in most cases they have used their 'activism' to support a belief, there is no denying the fact that others have used various causes to improve their own images.
Since the summer of 2020, when Lewis Hamilton brought the Black Lives Matter cause to F1, resulting in the sport allowing drivers time before races to show their support, his various colleagues, most notably Sebastian Vettel, have joined in, as have the teams.
That said, questions have been raised about the teams' approach, with some accusing them of jumping on the bandwagon, using the various causes to their own advantage.
Though quick to reflect Pride Month by adding rainbows to their liveries and social media icons, it was noted that in countries where LGBTQ rights are a no-no, the same manufacturers appeared to give Pride a miss.
Furthermore, it was noted that one team leading the Pride charge, had - in the days before Pride became 'fashionable' - fired a leading member of staff after they posted a picture of two men kissing on the team's social media account.
In its support, and not in any way influenced by the trend, or the fact that Chase Carey's wife had deleted her Twitter account following complaints from Hamilton, F1 adopted the 'We Race As One' tag to 'prove' its commitment.
However, aware that all causes can be divisive and that showing support - or oppossiton - to certain movements can cause harm as well as good, Mohammed ben Sulayem is adamant that the sport - and its participants - must appear neutral.
"I am a big believer in the sport," he said, during a visit to the Dakar Rally. "We are concerned with building bridges.
"You can use sport for peace reasons and all of this," he continued. "But one thing we don't want is to have the FIA as a platform for private personal agenda. We will divert from the sport.
"What does the driver do best? Driving. They are so good at it, and they make the business, they make the show, they are the stars. Nobody is stopping them.
"There are other platforms to express what they want. Everybody has this, and they are most welcome to go through the process of the FIA, to go through that."
At the weekend, the FIA president took to social media to express his feelings over the ongoing opposition to the Andretti-Cadillac project, using his personal Twitter account and not that of the FIA.
"I have my own personal things, OK, but it doesn't mean I will use the FIA to do it," he said. "The FIA should be neutral, I believe. We need the superstars in to make the sport.
"If there is anything, you take the permission. If not, if they make any other mistake, it's like speeding in the pit lane. If you do it, it's very clear what you get."