Criticism unwanted: Verbal harassment for Lewis Hamilton and Co.

Lewis Hamilton is known for his work against oppression and discrimination. It must have been all the more difficult for the Formula 1 record world champion to remain silent about the distorted human rights situation in the host country, Saudi Arabia, before the Grand Prix on Sunday in Jeddah.

But the British Mercedes driver didn’t quite make it. While the previous speakers Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll emphasized the positive changes, also thanks to Formula 1, which has been active in the Kingdom since 2021, Hamilton explained his point of view briefly and concisely: “Quite the opposite of what they said.”

Press representatives repeatedly asked the 38-year-old what exactly he meant, who only replied: “It’s free for interpretation.” It remains unclear whether his reluctance has anything to do with specifying the rules for expressing political opinions.

At the end of December, the world association tightened its ban course, since then the international sports regulations under point 12.2.1. “political, religious and personal expressions or comments” constitute a violation of the Rules unless they have been approved in advance.

At the start of practice, Max Verstappen was the fastest.