Method One drivers should not use the platform supplied by the Worldwide Car Federation (FIA) to make statements for their very own “private agenda”, the game’s governing physique president Mohammed Ben Sulayem stated on Tuesday.

Method One drivers will want prior written permission from the game’s governing physique to make “political, spiritual and private statements” from subsequent season following an replace of the Worldwide Sporting Code.

Until the FIA grants approval in writing, drivers who make such statements will now be in breach of the foundations.

“We’re involved with constructing bridges. You need to use sport for peace causes… However one factor we do not need is to have the FIA as a platform for personal private agenda,” Ben Sulayem informed reporters.

“We’ll divert from the game. What does the driving force do finest? Driving. They’re so good at it, and so they make the enterprise, they make the present, they’re the celebs. No one is stopping them.

“There are different platforms to precise what they need. All people has this and they’re most welcome to undergo the method of the FIA, to undergo that.”

Former champions Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel have been among the many high-profile drivers who made such statements in current seasons.

Hamilton has stood up for human rights and racial equality whereas additionally addressing LGBTQ+ rights in conservative international locations like Saudi Arabia which has held two races since 2021.

Vettel, who retired final yr, has highlighted points from LGBTQ rights to local weather change.

Ben Sulayem rejected the notion that the FIA was shutting down drivers, saying he wished to “enhance and clear up” the game.

“I’ve my very own private issues, OK, however it doesn’t suggest I’ll use the FIA to do it,” stated Ben Sulayem, a former rally driver from the United Arab Emirates.

“The FIA ought to be impartial, I imagine. We’d like the superstars in to make the game.

“If there’s something, you’re taking the permission. If not, in the event that they make another mistake, it is like dashing within the pit lane. For those who do it, it’s totally clear what you get.”