F1 news LIVE: FIA president stuns the paddock with shock change

Alex Albon has urged for “clarity” on the FIA’s new rule banning Formula 1 drivers from making political statements.

World motorsport’s governing body has updated its international sporting code with a new regulation whereby drivers will be in breach if they make or display “political, religious and personal statements… unless previously approved in writing by the FIA.”

Drivers such as Lewis Hamilton and the now-retired Sebastian Vettel have been vocal and outspoken on matters such as racial inequality, minority rights and climate change and this new rule seems to be clamping down on such shows of protest.

And British-Thai driver Albon, ahead of his second season with Williams, told the media on Monday that the situation was “somewhat confusing” and insisted the drivers need to be able to “speak freely” on matters close to their heart.

“Political stances are a very sensitive area so we need clarity from the FIA on what they’re trying to tell us,” the 26-year-old said at Williams’ 2023 car launch in Oxford.

“On a personal side it is somewhat confusing. We were very much for ‘We Race as One’ and now it seems like the FIA are trying to go away from that. So we need to be open in dialogue about what they’re trying to do but of course, we need to be able to speak freely.”

Formula 1 boss Stefano Domenicali implored the sport will “never put a gag on anyone” in wake of the FIA’s ban on drivers making political statements.

The FIA updated their international sporting code in the off-season to implement a regulation stating that drivers will be in breach of the rulebook if they make “political, religious or personal” statements without prior approval from F1’s governing body.

The likes of Lewis Hamilton and the recently retired Sebastian Vettel have regularly spoken out on matters such as racial inequality, minority rights and climate change and this new rule seems to be a clampdown on their ability to highlight issues close to their heart.

While Domenicali believed the FIA would indeed provide further details in the near future, the ex-Ferrari chief insisted that the sport was eager to encourage drivers raising important political issues.

“F1 will never put a gag on anyone,” he told The Guardian. “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.”

The 2023 Formula 1 season starts on 5 March in Bahrain – and preparations are well underway ahead of the new campaign.

All 10 teams have had more than two months since the final race of 2022 in Abu Dhabi and are set to reveal their new cars in the next few weeks, with pre-season testing taking place at the Bahrain International Circuit from 23-25 February.

Here are the 2023 car launch dates in chronological order:

AlphaTauri – Saturday 11 February (Livery launch, New York)

Aston Martin – Monday 13 February (Silverstone)

McLaren – Monday 13 February (location TBC)

Ferrari – Tuesday 14 February (location TBC)

Mercedes – Wednesday 15 February (Silverstone)

Alpine – Thursday 16 February (London)

Under-fire FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem has conceded day-to-day control of Formula One.

The 61-year-old Emirati’s shock decision comes after a number of controversial weeks at the helm of world motorsport – including the threat of legal action from Formula One, and the exposure of historical sexist remarks on his now-defunct personal website.

The FIA, which governs F1, insists Ben Sulayem’s move has long been in the pipeline, and follows a restructuring of the organisation after he assumed the presidency from Jean Todt in December 2021.

But his revelation in a letter to the sport’s team principals and F1 bosses on Monday that the FIA’s director of single-seater racing Nikolas Tombazis should now be their main contact has sent ripples around the grid with the new season less than a month away.

Sulayem, who remains in charge of the FIA, was centre stage in F1 last season, sitting with the drivers in the moments before races, and handing out trophies at a number of grands prix.

More recently, he has used his social media platforms to address the thorny topic of new teams in F1.

However, in an extract of Ben Sulayem’s letter, the former rally driver wrote: “My stated objective was to be a non-executive president via the recruitment of a team of professional managers, which has now been largely completed.

“Therefore, going forward, your day-to-day contact for all matters on F1 will be with Nikolas and his team, while I will focus on strategic matters with my leadership team.”