President of the FIA Mohammed Ben Sulayem gained some negative press on social media this pass week following his comments which suggested Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Lando Norris have used their platform to impose their beliefs on the sport. The Emirati former racer was referring to the three drivers speaking out on behalf of issues such as racism, LGBTQ+ rights and the stigma surrounding mental health.

Sulayem was quick to clarify with a statement released on Thursday ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku in which he claimed he believes sport should act as “a catalyst of progress in society”.

As a driver, I have always believed in sport as a catalyst of progress in society. That is why promoting sustainability, diversity and inclusion is a key priority of my mandate. In the same way, I value the commitment of all drivers and champions for a better future.

— Mohammed Ben Sulayem (@Ben_Sulayem) June 9, 2022

Both Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel doubled down on their stance of standing up for the issues they believe in, with both drivers noting the slow pace of change and the work which still needs to be done.

“Creating a more inclusive environment is so important,” Hamilton said. “And focusing on creating better diversity within your organisation, but also it’s so important within the sport.

“But it’s moving at a slow pace. We need more people to utilise the platform. So I encourage all the drivers to be more outspoken in the future and speak about what they care about.

“I’m proud to see what Seb [Vettel] does and to be an ally of his.”

Vettel also mentioned the work being done by his peers and highlighted it’s importance within society.

“I’d like to say is the topics Lewis is continuing to raise, the issues Lando has been talking about, the and stuff I’ve been mentioning, I feel they are topics that are very important to be addressed.” He said.

“They are bigger than us, bigger than a sport can ever be.

“It is important to express those and to raise awareness that there’s still lots of things we can improve on.”

In the midst of the controversy, the FIA announced the appointment of Tanya Kutsenko to the new position of dedicated motorsport equality, diversity and inclusion advisor, following through on Sulayem’s election manifesto.

Sulayem noted that it is a key priority of his to promote diversity within the sport, an issue which was heavily promoted during his 2021 campaign for the FIA president role.

“The appointment of a dedicated and experienced advisor in charge of these issues will allow us to accelerate inclusion and double participation in motorsport.”