Lewis Hamilton has been warned against making "Oscars acceptance speeches" as David Coulthard suggested Formula 1 drivers may be best served by "concentrating on the sport".
The Scot was referring to new regulations, which prohibit drivers from making any political points or protests on a race weekend. Racer will now need to seek prior consent from the FIA before such actions, or risk punishment.
The governing body says the move has been made to bring F1 in line with other major sports and their legislation around political gestures. But its critics have slammed the move and accused the FIA of restricting the right of drivers – and Hamilton in particular, as the most outspoken of the current crop of racers – to protest.
Coulthard, meanwhile appears to have backed the move and says he understands why the FIA has chosen to re-write the rules. "Sport is watched by millions of people all over the world and therefore it can be used as a platform to do something good," he told Swedish outlet Expressen.
"But as an athlete, you are also very lucky to get paid to do things that others would do for nothing at all. And it's a bit like an acceptance speech at the Oscars. If everyone uses the opportunity to make a political statement, there is no issue that is not important to someone.
"So we either have to mention everything, or maybe it's better not to say anything at all and concentrate on the sport. I understand that there are people who promote freedom of speech and all that, and that is absolutely an important thing to keep in mind, but I also think that we have to remember that it is the sporting rules that we are talking about, not some political regulation."
Coulthard was speaking after competing at the Race of Champions last weekend, which took place in northern Sweden. Also at the even was Valtteri Bottas, who had a different view and was more critical of the decision.
"Personally, I don't like politics. I like doing what I love, which is racing, but at the same time politics is part of today's society," said the Finn, who made it clear he does not think he and his fellow drivers should lose the right to say what they like.
"I think Formula 1 has done a good job in drawing attention to some of these kinds of issues and many drivers have raised their voices, including Sebastian [also competing at the ROC]. I don't understand why they want to control us. I think we should have the right to talk about what we want. That's how I see it, but we'll see what happens."
