Lewis Hamilton reflected on the recent off-track controversies dominating the Formula 1 headlines of late, saying that it is “disappointing to see.”
Hamilton is a long-time advocate for fairness, diversity and inclusion within the sport through his Mission 44 initiative and support of organisations such as Racing Pride.
Not only that, but the seven-time World Champion is also pushing for fairer gender representation in what is a historically male-dominated sport and was a keen observer of the debut round of the all-female F1 Academy series in Jeddah last weekend.
As such, recent headlines dominating the media surrounding Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner’s alleged behaviour toward a female colleague and claims made against FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s supposed interference with F1 stewarding and certifying of Grand Prix circuits have given Hamilton cause for concern.
“As someone who loves the sport it’s definitely disappointing to see what’s going on right now and it definitely doesn’t look good to the outside world, from the outside looking in, and it doesn’t look good looking in,” the Mercedes driver said on the Wednesday proceeding the Saudi Arabian GP.
“It’s a really important time for the sport to show and stick to their values, hold ourselves accountable for our actions and it’s a pivotal moment for the sport in terms of what we project to the world and how it’s handled.
“It’s not been handled very well up until this point. I think transparency is really key and I’m really hoping to see some progress moving forwards.”
Parent Company Red Bull GmbH turned to an independent King’s Counsel (KC) to investigate claims made by a female complainant regarding Horner’s alleged behaviour.
Before the Bahrain Grand Prix, a Red Bull statement read: “The independent investigation into the allegations made against Mr. Horner is complete, and Red Bull can confirm that the grievance has been dismissed.”
Since then, Jos Verstappen has claimed Horner’s position within Red Bull is untenable and Advisor Helmut Marko found himself under fire after allegedly leaking items to the press.
The FIA, meanwhile, said its “Compliance Officer has received a report detailing potential allegations involving certain members of its governing bodies,” following a whistleblower levelling allegations at Ben Sulayem.
With the FIA’s process ongoing and the Red Bull controversy still lingering over the sport, Hamilton hopes this isn’t a year-long saga and calls into question whether F1 is doing enough to hold up to its values.
“I hope it’s not a year that it continues to go on with this,” he said.
“It highlights some of the issues we also have in the sport, when we are talking about diversity and inclusion that includes gender, for example, and making people feel comfortable in this environment is key, and that’s clearly not the case.”
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