Lewis Hamilton says he has “never supported” FIA president Mohamed Ben Sulayem as Mercedes teammate George Russell joins calls for transparency.
Hamilton's comments come after a tumultuous few months for the FIA, following news that Sulayem has been spared punishment by the FIA Ethics Committee for his alleged interference in the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and Las Vegas Grand Prix, followed by F1 Academy Managing Director Susie Mr. Wolf admitted. She filed a criminal complaint against the governing body in France.
Lewis Hamilton has 'never supported' FIA president
Wolfe found himself with a name like; Unsubstantiated and quickly debunked media reports suggesting she and her husband, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, shared confidential information as part of their roles, the FIA said it would investigate It started and quickly ended, with no evidence of the allegations, which had been categorically denied from the beginning, found.
Speaking to the media ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, Hamilton made his position on the FIA president clear.
Asked if he still supported Ben Sulayem as FIA president, Hamilton bluntly declared: “Absolutely not.”
Hamilton stressed that fans would struggle to “trust the sport” and, like Wolff, called for more “transparency” from the FIA.
“First of all, I'm extremely proud of Susie,” Hamilton said.
“I think she's very brave and embodies great values. She's a great leader and for her to stand up in a world where people are often silenced sends a really great message. Become.
“I love that she's out of this world and fighting from the outside, because here in this sport, within the FIA, there's a real lack of accountability and things happen behind closed doors. This is because there is no transparency.”
“There's really no accountability and we need that. I think the fans need that. If we don't have that, how can we trust this sport and what's going on here?
“So I hope that this position that she is taking now will create change and have a positive impact, especially for women.
“Sport remains a male-dominated sport and we live in a time where the message is 'file it and you're fired' and that's a scary story to send to the world.
“So we have to make sure that we're true to our core values here, especially when we're talking about inclusivity in this sport.”
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“Transparency” was also a word addressed to Hamilton's Mercedes teammate George Russell, who stressed that without all the facts, people will always believe “something is being hidden”.
“As drivers, I think we have a role within the team and I believe that the leaders in this sport have our best interests at heart, not just our own interests,” he said. Ta.
“And I think it goes back to the transparency aspect of things. Once things are transparent and we see the outcome of these lawsuits, we can all use all the facts and figures in front of us to make our own decisions. You have the opportunity to judge.
“But when you don’t have facts and figures and you don’t have transparency, you always think something is being hidden.
“That's why Lewis said he would send the right message to everyone who supports F1, watches F1 and wants to be involved in F1, that things are not just being washed away. I think it's very important for the sport right now, like the carpet.'' “
Hamilton and Russell are preparing to compete in F1 for the third time with Mercedes in 2024 at the upcoming Australian Grand Prix.
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