Lewis Hamilton feels sad to see F1 banning its drivers and teams from making political statements

Lewis Hamilton recently expressed his thoughts on the FIA's new rule, which curbs the freedom to speak about political issues during a race weekend. Since the seven-time world champion has been one of the most vocal drivers on the F1 paddock, this rule will affect him the most.

In a recent interview with The New York Times, Hamilton spoke about how important it is to raise awareness towards certain world issues. He hopes that this rule will be removed in the future so that drivers and teams can use their platform to spread the word more freely. He said:

"There are still so many barriers still in place. Hopefully, it's not going to be like this for much longer, but it's just sad to see we are still finding those things today."

Lewis Hamilton further delved deep into how these political statements from drivers and teams could impact the world and people in a better way. Since several world issues are hard to talk about, the Briton insists that people in the sport can normalize and help people tackle them more easily. He said:

"If I don't have these conversations with people, if I don't bring up these difficult conversations, they won't necessarily get discussed or tackled, or energy from organizations won't necessarily be put into creating more inclusivity. Spending the time having those conversations and what it means and how positive it could be for everybody, it takes time. It's a constant job to have them."

Lewis Hamilton has constantly used his massive reach to raise his voice against several world issues like racism, environmental change, gender equality, etc. Sebastian Vettel, who recently retired from F1 after 2022, was also someone who talked a lot about these problems.

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Mark Webber believes Lewis Hamilton has regained motivation after a rough 2022 F1 season

Former F1 driver Mark Webber recently spoke about how Lewis Hamilton was affected after an intense 2021 F1 season and a tough 2022 F1 season. The Briton has been unable to continue his domination since Max Verstappen won the world championship in 2021. Moreover, he was unable to win any race in 2022, which was a massive step back for the seven-time world champion.

Webber, however, believes that Hamilton will be back in 2023 at full strength. Speaking to Motorsport, he said:

"For Lewis, this year was. of course. a huge step back, while for George [Russell], everything was positive. He was suddenly in a much better situation than before that time in his career. George has done well this year without any doubt, let that be clear. But Lewis, with his newfound motivation, is now also back to, say, 99 percent of what he's capable of. That winning instinct is in him. If the victories are achievable again next year."

Mercedes will be hungry to win races and both its drivers will be working hard for it in the 2023 F1 season. The veteran driver has also expressed his passion and newfound motivation to win yet another world title before retirement.