Formula One drivers need more guidance from the governing FIA on what they can say at races this season after a rule change caused concern, according to Williams driver Alex Albon.
The FIA updated the International Sporting Code last December with a clause requiring prior written permission for drivers to make or display “political, religious and personal statements or comments”.
The move has been a pre-season talking point, with uncertainty about how it might be applied in practice.
“It seems quite a broad subject ... we need clarity from the FIA on what they are trying to tell us,” Albon told reporters during a livery launch at the team's factory.
“On a personal side it is somewhat confusing ... we were very much for 'We Race As One' and all these kind of situations and so now it seems like the FIA are trying to go away from that," he added.
“So we need to see. We need to be open in dialogue about what they are trying to do. We need to be able to speak freely to some extent. I'm sure we're going to get clarity later on what really they are trying to say.”
F1 launched its ‘We Race As One’ diversity, inclusion and sustainability platform in 2020, with drivers gathered on the grid pre-race to express their support with a gesture of their choice.
Some drivers, with seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton a vocal advocate for human rights and racial equality, chose to take the knee while others remained standing but wearing T-shirts supporting various causes.
Some have already expressed concern about the move, with Red Bull's Sergio Perez saying last Friday that they needed to be able to speak freely. Human rights groups have also criticised the FIA's position.
“A lot of people come to us and look at us as spokespeople for issues around the world and I do feel like it is a responsibility for drivers to make people aware of these kind of situations,” said Albon. “We're all concerned.”
The season starts in Bahrain on March 5 and Williams are targeting clear progress up the grid in 2023 and Albon hopes the team could be regulars in the second phase of qualifying.
The livery for our 2023 challenger. Bring on the season 👊#WeAreWilliams pic.twitter.com/Sy79jtMp9w
— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) February 6, 2023
“I don't think it will be something like a Haas, where they came out of the blocks and straight away very competitive,” he said. “We have changed quite a lot of the car in terms of its philosophy ... that might take a bit of time to understand and optimise.
“In terms of upgrades last year, we only had really one significant one. Hopefully we can be able to bring out possibly smaller and more frequent ones.
“I don't think we're going to come out of the blocks firing but we just need to be smart. We did it already last year. We did start the year on the back foot and we started scoring points around midway.”
