F1

LEWIS HAMILTON and his fellow Formula One stars have been urged to fight against new laws limiting free speech. F1’s governing body, the FIA, have introduced new rules into the sport which limit the ability for those in the sport to express themselves.
Lewis Hamilton has been urged to keep speaking out despite new rulesCredit: Getty
The likes of Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel have been outspoken on social issues in the pastCredit: Getty
The new doctrine states participants cannot make or display “political, religious and personal statements or comments notably in violation of the general principle of neutrality… unless previously approved in writing by the FIA.”
It comes following the World Cup, which was marred by political controversy as Fifa declared they would sanction political gestures, such as the “One Love” armbands, in Qatar.
But F1 drivers have been urged to rebel against the “brutal” and “hypocritical” rules that have been brought in.
Speaking to the Telegraph, Rob Koehler, chief executive of Global Athlete, said: “Without athletes, the sport does not exist.
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“It is blatantly hypocritical to tell athletes to stick to their sports and stay out of politics while the FIA consistently leverages politics to their advantage.”
Hamilton, along with the now-retired Sebastian Vettel, has been one driver who has remained an outspoken voice on political issues both outside and inside of F1.
And Koehler added: “Freedom of expression is a basic fundamental human right and sport rules cannot supersede human rights.
“Many people look up to athletes as agents of change.
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“The example set by the FIA is that every child, youth and adult watching the sport should remain silent on social justice issues.
“It is simply wrong. Shame on the FIA.
“Athletes are humans first, athletes second.
“It is also clear that the FIA is taking a page out of Fifa’s playbook to silence athletes.”
The FIA explained the change to Article 12.2.1 of the sporting code was done “to align itself to the practices of other similar international sports organisations such as Fifa, IOC and Fiba on the matter of neutrality.”
Koehler slammed the move, saying: “In 2020, athletes took a stand against the IOC and IPC to force them to relax their rules on freedom of expression.
“I hope the drivers do the same. This is brutal.”
Seven-time world champion Hamilton previously wore a shirt that read “Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor” in 2020, and has remained outspoken on a variety of social issues.
Likewise, Vettel highlighted issues such as LGBTQ+ rights and Climate Change prior to his retirement.
After initially promoting the taking of the knee and the “We Race As One” slogan, F1 ditched the knee gesture at the start of 2022 with president Stefano Domenicali declaring “action” rather than “gestures” were needed.
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The new move from F1 has also been slammed online, with SunSport’s Ben Hunt declaring: “Outlawing freedom of speech is not progress.”
A jewellery ban introduced by the FIA earlier this season also saw them come under fire. More

FORMULA ONE’S best paid drivers in 2022 have been revealed, with a new champion in tow.Lewis Hamilton, who has held the crown since 2013, endured a difficult year behind the wheel of his Mercedes as he failed to win a race in a season for the first time in his F1 career.
Lewis Hamilton has been knocked off of his perch at F1’s top paid driverCredit: Getty
Max Verstappen won his second drivers championship in 2022Credit: Rex
Meanwhile, Max Verstappen cruised to a second world championship with a record-breaking 15 race victories to his name.
The pair have been F1’s headline act in recent years, with their rivalry seeing sparks fly both on and off the track as they took the 2021 championship down to the last lap of the season.
And while the Dutchman claimed victory in that battle, a year on he has added the lucrative title of F1’s best paid driver to his name.
As revealed by Forbes, the Red Bull driver is taking home a cool £33million ($40m) plus £16.5m in bonuses ($20m).
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Verstappen, 25, signed a bumper new-deal with Red Bull ahead of the 2022 season, and he paid back the deal with 15 race wins and shattering the record for most points scored in a season with 454.
Hamilton falls just short of his rival, though not in the basic salary department.
Indeed, the Brit’s annual salary dwarfs Verstappen’s by around £12.4m ($15m), with Hamilton earning £45.3m ($55m) WITHOUT bonuses.
Verstappen’s champion bonus has given him the edge over Hamilton in this case, but Hamilton remains one of the most marketable assets in Motorsport, with him earning £6.6m ($8m) in endorsements off-track.
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Moving down the list is another driver with Hamilton history.
Two-time champion Fernando Alonso claims the final podium spot, with the 41-year-old earning £24.7m ($30m) in 2022.
And like Hamilton, he has secured this deal with just a basic salary.
Not that this has stopped him from swapping Alpine for Aston Martin next season.
Mexican Sergio Perez comes in fourth with £21.4m ($26m) earned.
The 32-year-old narrowly lost out on second spot in the driver’s championship to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, but still earned a juicy £13.2m ($16m) in bonuses.
Leclerc comes in next after earning £18.9m ($23m) over 2022.
The Monegasque will be hoping he can make more of a dent in Verstappen’s title charge next season and be the first driver to win a title for the Tifosi since Kimi Raikkonen in 2007.
The top 10 list of F1 driver earnings in 2022
Retiring F1 icon Sebastian Vettel is next.
The four-time champion earned £14m ($17m) in his final year in his F1, though Vettel has been offered a chance to change this decision in the future, with a lot of love clearly still going around for him after Hamilton arranged a farewell dinner for him.
Another star leaving the sport, Daniel Ricciardo, earned the same as Vettel.
But while Vettel is leaving the sport completely, the honeybadger is dropping into a reserve driver role with ex-team Red Bull.
Spaniard Carlos Sainz comes in at P8 on the list, earning £12.4m ($15m).
His former team-mate Lando Norris also made the top 10.
The 23-year-old McLaren star was the only driver outside of the big three teams to earn a podium throughout the season and finished best of the rest in P7 in the driver standings.
His impressive season saw him earn £9.1m ($11m) in 2022, eclipsing that of compatriot George Russell.
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Russell capped off his first-season with the Silver Arrows with a race win at the penultimate race of the season in Brazil.
The 24-year-old earned £8.2m ($10m) despite a basic salary of just £2.5m ($3m). More

GEORGE RUSSELL says Mercedes “haven’t forgotten how to build a fast race car” and says the team are “building on top” of last season’s woes.Merc were well off the pace of Red Bull and Ferrari in 2022.
Russell expects Merc to be competitive from the off next seasonCredit: Splash
Red Bull picked up the Formula One Constructors’ championship while Max Verstappen became a two-time world champ.
Russell did, however, pick up Merc’s one and only win of the season in Brazil.
And ahead of the 2023 campaign, the Brit says his team still know what they’re doing in F1.
Russell is also confident the team will be competitive from the first race of the season.
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He told BBC Radio Norfolk: “They haven’t forgotten how to build a fast race car.
“We just got it wrong this year.”
Russell continued: “We got the philosophy wrong. We went down a route which turned out to be the wrong route.
“Sometimes it takes you a long time to dig yourself out of that hole.
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“Now I feel we’ve dug ourselves out of that hole and we’re building on top of that.
“We are a step behind Red Bull and Ferrari and we’ve got a lot of catching up to do – but we’re definitely going to be in a much stronger position from race one next year than we were this year.”
Russell managed to beat seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton in the standings last season.
In his debut campaign for Merc, Russell claimed 275 points to Hamilton’s 240.
Despite that, Russell is not proud of his start to life at the Silver Arrows.
He said: “I’m not going to walk away from this season with a huge amount of pride because I finished fourth in the championship.
“I’m here to win. We need to keep raising the bar.”
And Russell has issued a warning to team-mate Hamilton, who dreams of claiming a record-breaking eighth world crown.
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Russell added: “I’m here for the long haul and even though I would have wanted victories and to be fighting for that championship in 2022, I think as a team the struggles are going to set us up much nicer for the coming years.
“So I hope I look back in 10 years time and say, actually this 2022 season was a positive one for the journey.” More