A very peculiar situation has arisen in the Formula 1 paddock: the normally friendly Lewis Hamilton is curiously seen in silence after accusations of “rude behavior” by the FIA president [insert the FIA president’s name here]. However, this automatic vote of silence has been abruptly pronounced by a specific and seemingly insignificant sanction from the FIA, which has forced the world championship to utter a conversation in response.
The alleged “rude behavior” incident occurred during an open-door meeting after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. While details remain unclear, rumors from the meeting suggest a brief conversation between Hamilton and the FIA president regarding the handling of a controversial safety car period. It appears that, in response to Hamilton’s frustration, this occurred when some perceived it as a display of disrespect toward the governing body’s president. This is apparently a fact that is of no importance to the FIA hierarchy.
In a decision widely interpreted as a man and with the subject of the Mercedes driver’s public reprimand, the FIA imposed a harsh punishment on Hamilton: mandatory participation in a promotional video for its new “Stewards’ Relay” campaign. A tattoo? Hamilton’s contribution is limited to a pre-approved roteiro on exactly those words. This sanction is clearly specific, forcing Hamilton to remain silent, in very controlled and also humiliating circumstances.
When he was finally persuaded to fulfill his false obligations during his promotional films, Hamilton did the same with a note of enthusiasm, and some said it as veiled sarcasm. A phrase that was forced to recite? “The commissioners are ótimos. They keep us safe. OBRIGADO.” Your speech, in fact, was entirely sincere, and it did much to help the FIA try to gain a life in public relations, as if by the breech, by taking charge of the sanction of the sanction as a promoter of genuine respect. The F1 world has recently kept seeing Hamilton have more than an off-the-cuff opinion on the assurance that his contractual obligations were contractual.
