Lewis Hamilton suggests Mohammed Ben Sulayem‘s comments about wanting to reduce the amount of swearing on the team radio had a “racist element” to them. The Emirati compared the radio swearing to rappers in music, and Hamilton believes this is unacceptable.
The Mercedes driver was asked about his opinion on Ben Sulayem’s plea to reduce the amount of swearing on the team radios in Formula 1. “I don’t like how he expressed it. Saying it was rappers was very stereotypical, and if you think most rappers are black, it really points it towards, ‘We’re not like them’. So I think those were the wrong choice of words, and there is a racial element there,” Hamilton said.
Does Hamilton think there is too much swearing?
However, the seven-time World Champion did agree with the core of the issue. He says there is a bit too much swearing. “It is also good to have some emotion, it is very, very hard and we’re not robots. For me, the way I control it is that I have over 2,000 people who are working towards me doing this and having this position and being where I am with a lot of followers of all ages. But it is not about me, even though I have this experience on track. What I do and what I say affects all those people sacrificing time with their families. [They are] giving everything for me to have this privileged position and opportunity,” Hamilton added.
“When I was 22, I didn’t think of it as much and it was more your emotions are just firing and you’re just saying whatever comes to mind, not forgetting how many people and kids are listening. I agree in the sense that you listen to some of the younger drivers and they’ve not got it yet but at some stage they probably will.
I’m sure if you say there are penalties for it, people will stop. I don’t know if that’s needed but I definitely think there is a little bit too much [swearing],” Hamilton concluded.
