"Thank god you can always rely on Lewis Hamilton to call him out for s**t like this" - Fans react to Mercedes driver criticizing FIA president

F1 fans have reacted to Lewis Hamilton calling out FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem regarding his comments on drivers swearing being similar to rappers. The seven-time world champion felt that Sulayem's comments had racial undertones since most rappers were people of color.

In an interview with Motorsport.com, the FIA president talked about swearing being heard during F1 live broadcasts. He said that motorsport should be different from "rappers":

“We're not rappers, you know. They say the F-word how many times per minute? We are not on that. That's them and we are [us],” Sulayem said.

Following these comments, Hamilton criticized the FIA president's choice of words. He felt that there were racial undertones in Sulayem's comments and that it was stereotypical to connect rappers to swearing.

“"With what he said, I don't like how he's expressed it. Saying 'rappers' is very stereotypical as most rappers are black. It really kind of points towards 'we are not like them', so I think those were the wrong choice of words and there's a racial element there,” Hamilton told Sky Sports.

F1 fans on X (formerly Twitter) reacted to Hamilton's comments. While some talked about other rap songs made by white artists that had swear words in them, others humorously suggested a "diss track."

"thank god you can always rely on lewis to call him out for sh*t like this. that was by far the most boneheaded part of the interview for me," a fan wrote.

"Awful comment tbh and Lewis is 1000% right, I didn’t know Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter was rap music and that swears and was the most popular song of the summer. Naive and ignorant comment," another added.

"It’s your sign to release a diss track," a fan said.

On the other hand, there were a few fans who didn't agree with Lewis Hamilton's comments on the issue, with one fan mentioning the rapper Eminem. Another fan, meanwhile, suggested the British driver focus on racing.

"Mate I could say how “black rappers” discriminate Eminem because of his skin colour but we barely hear people talking about that is only one side. Don’t like to label people “black or white” we are HUMANS but still others tend to do it," a follower wrote.

"Focus on driving Lewis," another fan said.

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Lewis Hamilton's rival criticizes Mohammed Ben Sulayem's "swearing" comments

While Lewis Hamilton felt that the FIA president's rapper and swearing comment had racial undertones, Max Verstappen also strongly criticized Mohammed Ben Sulayem's take.

Speaking at the Singapore GP press conference, the Red Bull driver said that even if the sport protects kids from picking up swear words, they will eventually learn them in the future. Verstappen said,

"Yeah, excuse me for the language but come on, like, what are we, five-year-olds, six-year-olds?

"Even if a five-year-old or six-year-old is watching, they will eventually swear anyway, even if the parents want or they will not allow it, when they grow up, they will walk around with their friends and they will be swearing, so this is not changing anything," he added.

As of now, there is no penalty for drivers swearing during heated situations. However, there are penalties for racial slurs and comments.