F1 president ‘will never put a gag on anyone’ after drivers speak up against FIA free speech ban

metro.co.uk:

the governing body introduced new legislation that now prohibits: ‘The general making and display of political, religious and personal statements or comments unless previously approved in writing by the FIA.’This move has already received widespread condemnation, and with 2023 pre-season now fully underway, drivers, including Max Verstappen, Valtteri Bottas and Alex Albon have been expressing their discontent also.Domenicali has now weighed in and promised racers that he will not stand in their way if they want to speak out on subjects like racism, diversity and the environment.He told The Guardian: ‘F1 will never put a gag on anyone.

Everyone wants to talk so to have the platform to say what they want in the right way, the better it is.‘We have a huge opportunity because of the position of our sport which is more and more global, multicultural and multivalued.‘We are talking about 20 drivers, 10 teams and many sponsors, they have different ideas, different views.

I cannot say one is right, one is wrong but it is right, if needed, to give them a platform to discuss their opinions in an open way.‘We will not change that approach as a sport.

That should be the line of our sport, to give everyone the chance to speak in the right way, not with aggressive tones or to offend but with respect.‘We keep monitoring the situation, we keep the drivers informed, we meet with the Grand Prix Drivers’ Associations to discuss it, how we can allow the drivers to be open as human beings in our sport.‘Athletes can be very emotional and passionate about some things and they need to discuss that constructively with people they trust.‘We are talking about a regulation and the regulator is the FIA.