A human rights group has said Formula 1’s governing body, the FIA, is “suppressing drivers’ free speech” with a rule introduced this year.
The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (Bird) questions the FIA’s commitment to human rights.
Bird says this prevents “drivers from having their voices heard on issues such as human rights and racism”.
He says the rule “seems to be a reaction” to Lewis Hamilton raising such concerns.
The letter, from Bird director Sayed Ahmed Alwadei, and seen by BBC Sport, refers to a new rule added to the FIA’s sporting code this year which prohibits “the general making and display of political, religious and personal in particular in violation of the general principle of neutrality promoted by the FIA under its statutes, except with the prior written approval of the FIA”.
Alwadei says the move “seems to be a reaction to the drivers, in particular Lewis Hamilton, raising their concerns about the venues chosen for F1 races, including the host countries’ human rights records, and making powerful interventions where your own organization has remained silent”. .
The letter – addressed to FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem and copied to all teams and Hamilton representatives – contrasts the rule with last year’s decision to cancel the Russian Grand Prix contract.
And he points out what he sees as a contradiction between F1’s handling of Russia’s war in Ukraine and the involvement of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, all of whom hold grand prix, in a war in Yemen.
Alwadei says Hamilton has “used his platform to express support for Black Lives Matter and human rights in countries with problematic human rights records, including Bahrain and Saudi Arabia” .
“Throughout his career, none of the statements Hamilton has made can be seen as more political than the FIA’s decision to pull out of racing in Russia last season due to his invasion of Ukraine,” added Alwadei.
“In your own statement last year, you condemned the Russian invasion and expressed ‘sadness and shock’ for the victims in Ukraine. While I applaud that statement, it is clearly a political statement.”
In a statement to BBC Sport, Alwadei added: “When the FIA and F1 choose to grant races to some of the most repressive regimes in the world, such as Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, they are making it easier to wash sports and allow these dictatorships to whitewash their horrible rights records.
“It is very disturbing to see the FIA now emulating the tactics of its despotic trading partners in attempting to muzzle the voices of critics and defenders.
“Where the FIA and F1 failed, it was drivers like Lewis Hamilton who stood up and spoke out against abuse, and his vocal support for political prisoners in Bahrain brought appalling injustice to light.
“Now the FIA wants to silence him and others, and punish them if they dare to speak out. We tell Mohammed Ben Sulayem that this policy is wrong and must be reversed immediately.”
Alawadei refers to a meeting with the FIA on March 19, 2021, when Frenchman Jean Todt was president, during which he received “encouraging assurances that your predecessor wanted the FIA to adopt a human rights policy “.
He adds that the meeting was Bird’s “last significant engagement with the FIA” and that “unfortunately Jean Todt’s presidency ended without a human rights policy in place and he did not is not clear if it is still something that the FIA is working under your direction or not”.
The FIA has been contacted for comment. A spokesperson previously said the new rule was intended to codify an existing arrangement.
It would be directed against wearing clothes bearing campaign statements on the podium or before the race – like those Hamilton wore at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement after the 2020 killing of George Floyd by US police – rather than observations policies in support of progress in human rights.
F1 valuation remarks controversy
In another development, Ben Sulayem has sparked concern within F1 with a series of tweets saying the sport is not worth $20bn (£16.2bn).
Ben Sulayem’s remarks come on the heels of a Bloomberg report that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) had tried unsuccessfully to buy F1 for that figure.
He described the valuation as an “allegedly inflated price” and said: “Any potential buyer is urged to exercise common sense, consider the greater good of the sport and come up with a clear and sustainable plan – not just many silver.”
He added: “It is our duty to consider what the future impact will be for developers in terms of increased hosting fees and other business costs (in the event of such a sale).”
Saudi Arabia is involved in F1 – its national fuel company Aramco is a corporate sponsor, and the country hosts a race which has one of the highest accommodation costs – but BBC Sport has been told its PIF had not at this point tried to buy the sport.
But Ben Sulayem’s intervention raises a series of questions about why he felt the need to get involved in a business deal that technically is not within his purview.
The FIA is required to stay away from commercial issues within F1 by an agreement reached with the European Commission more than 20 years ago.
Ben Sulaymen’s statement comes amid ongoing tensions between the FIA on the one hand and F1 and teams on the other over the way the sport is run.
Liberty bought F1 in 2017 in a deal that valued the sport at $8.5 billion, since then its global appeal has grown significantly.
An FIA spokesman said Ben Sulayem wanted to express his personal opinion on the matter.
