In his appraisal of Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s remarks prior to the Singapore Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton did not hold back, claiming that there was a “racial element” to the FIA president’s remarks.
In an interview with Motorsport.com prior to the Singapore race, Ben Sulayem talked on the usage of profanity by drivers and the consequences of doing so for a broad audience. He did, however, make some surprising remarks regarding “rap music” in the process.
He said, “I mean, we have to distinguish between our sport, which is motorsport, and rap music.” You know, we’re not rappers. How many times a minute do they say the F-word? That is not where we are at. We are [us] and that’s them.
Ben Sulayem’s requests for less driver audio during the FOM broadcast, along with these remarks, were directed towards Hamilton during the media day in Singapore. “There are two segments to that because I’ve only heard of that today,” he responded.
“On the one hand, when I was 22, I didn’t give it as much thought; instead, I felt that your emotions were simply running wild and you were expressing whatever was on your mind, not caring how many other people or children were there.
“I agree that you should pay attention to some of the younger drivers; although they may not understand it now, they most likely will eventually. If you indicate there are consequences, I’m confident people will quit. I’m not sure whether that’s necessary, but I do believe there is a little bit too much swearing.
Then he went on: “I don’t like how he stated what he is saying. Saying it was rappers was incredibly clichéd, and the fact that most rappers are black emphasizes the idea that we’re not like them. Therefore, I believe that those were a poor choice of words and that there is a racial element there, but as I already stated, I support lightening it up a bit.”
