F1 news LIVE: Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali responds to prohibit on drivers such as Lewis Hamilton making political declarations

Lewis Hamilton said he had actually bananas tossed at him and was consistently called the “n-word” at school.

The 7 time Formula One world champ, who was born and informed in Stevenage, detailed the racial abuse in the On Purpose podcast, launched on Monday. The 38-year-old, who is getting ready for his 17th season in F1, said: “For me, school was the most traumatising and most difficult part of my life.

“I was already being bullied at the age of six. At that particular school I was one of three kids of colour and just bigger, stronger, bullying kids were throwing me around a lot of the time.

“And the constant jabs, the things that are either thrown at you, like bananas, or people that would use the n-word just so relaxed. People calling you half-caste and not knowing where you fit in. That for me was difficult.

“In my (secondary) school there were six or seven black kids out of 1,200 kids and three of us were put outside the headmasters’ office all the time. The headmaster just had it out for us – and particularly me.”

After declaring the fabricators’ champion in 2022, the group principal has actually admired the skill of his drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.

And Horner thinks the group can get back at much better regardless of their supremacy last season after showcasing the RB19.

“It’s taking all the lessons from the RB18,” Horner said. “There’s been some subtle changes. The tyres are slightly different too but RB19 draws on all the strengths.

Verstappen ran away with last season’s title, winning 15 of the 22 races, to secure his second championship with four rounds to spare. In contrast, Hamilton, in his under-performing Mercedes, endured the worst year of his career as he failed to win a race and finished 214 points adrift.

But when addressing the prospect of renewing his rivalry with Hamilton at Red Bull’s season launch in New York, Verstappen, 25, said: “In the interest of the sport you always want the teams to be super-close.

“I do think it was close last year, but as a team we executed a lot of things better than the others and that was why the points gap was so big. I never felt, apart from two or three races, that we absolutely dominated. But for the general interest of Formula One, everyone wants a title battle with multiple teams involved.”

Alex Albon has actually prompted for “clarity” on the FIA’s brand-new guideline prohibiting Formula 1 drivers from making political declarations.

World motorsport’s governing body has actually upgraded its worldwide sporting code with a brand-new policy where drivers will remain in breach if they make or show “political, religious and personal statements… unless previously approved in writing by the FIA.”

Drivers such as Lewis Hamilton and the now-retired Sebastian Vettel have actually been singing and outspoken on matters such as racial inequality, minority rights and environment modification and this brand-new guideline appears to be securing down on such programs of demonstration.

And British-Thai driver Albon, ahead of his 2nd season with Williams, informed the media on Monday that the scenario was “somewhat confusing” and firmly insisted the drivers require to be able to “speak freely” on matters near their heart.

“Political stances are a very sensitive area so we need clarity from the FIA on what they’re trying to tell us,” the 26-year-old said at Williams’ 2023 car launch in Oxford.

“On a personal side it is somewhat confusing. We were very much for ‘We Race as One’ and now it seems like the FIA are trying to go away from that. So we need to be open in dialogue about what they’re trying to do but of course, we need to be able to speak freely.”

Formula 1 manager Stefano Domenicali urged the sport will “never put a gag on anyone” in wake of the FIA’s restriction on drivers making political declarations.

The FIA upgraded their worldwide sporting code in the off-season to carry out a guideline specifying that drivers will remain in breach of the rulebook if they make “political, religious or personal” declarations without previous approval from F1’s governing body.

The likes of Lewis Hamilton and the just recently retired Sebastian Vettel have actually frequently spoken up on matters such as racial inequality, minority rights and environment modification and this brand-new guideline appears to be a clampdown on their capability to highlight problems near their heart.

While Domenicali thought the FIA would undoubtedly supply additional information in the future, the ex-Ferrari primary firmly insisted that the sport aspired to motivate drivers raising crucial political problems.

“F1 will never put a gag on anyone,” he informed The Guardian. “Everyone wants to talk so to have the platform to say what they want in the right way the better it is. We have a huge opportunity because of the position of our sport which is more and more global, multicultural and multivalued.

“We are talking about 20 drivers, 10 teams and many sponsors, they have different ideas, different views. I cannot say one is right, one is wrong but it is right, if needed, to give them a platform to discuss their opinions in an open way.”

The 2023 Formula 1 season begins on 5 March in Bahrain – and preparations are well in progress ahead of the brand-new campaign.

All 10 groups have actually had more than 2 months given that the last race of 2022 in Abu Dhabi and are set to expose their brand-new cars and trucks in the next couple of weeks, with pre-season screening happening at the Bahrain International Circuit from 23-25 February.

Here are the 2023 car launch dates in sequential order:

AlphaTauri – Saturday 11 February (Livery launch, New York)

Aston Martin – Monday 13 February (Silverstone)

McLaren – Monday 13 February (area TBC)

Ferrari – Tuesday 14 February (area TBC)

Mercedes – Wednesday 15 February (Silverstone)

Alpine – Thursday 16 February (London)

Alfa Romeo revealed their 2023 Formula 1 car at an unique launch occasion in Zurich on Tuesday early morning.

Alfa’s C43 opposition, sporting an elegant red-and-black livery, will be driven by Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu this year, with the majority of the advancement worrying the back of the car and the flooring in the middle of a tweak in the technical policies.

Both Bottas and Zhou existed in Switzerland for the eventand will drive the car for the very first time in a shakedown in Barcelona, prior to pre-season screening in Bahrain on 23-25 February.

The initially race of the 2023 season, the Bahrain Grand Prix, occurs a week in the future 3-5 March.

“You always get excited [with the launch of a new car] and we’re really fortunate people to drive these machines,” said Bottas, who is starting his 2nd season with Alfa having actually left Mercedes after the 2021 campaign.

“It’s a privilege to see the car and then drive it. We need to achieve more and aim for better and higher [this year]. We need to keep improving, better consistency, more points. How to get there is the tricky bit.”

Formula 1 manager Stefano Domenicali firmly insists the sport will never ever “put a gag on anyone” after the FIA’s off-season clampdown on drivers making political declaration.

An upgrade to the FIA worldwide sporting code suggests drivers will remain in breach of the rulebook if they make political declarations “without prior approval” however Domenicali – head of F1, not the FIA – spoke up versus this, informing The Guardian: “Everyone wants to talk so to have the platform to say what they want in the right way the better it is. We have a huge opportunity because of the position of our sport which is more and more global, multicultural and multivalued.”

“We are talking about 20 drivers, 10 teams and many sponsors, they have different ideas, different views. I cannot say one is right, one is wrong but it is right, if needed, to give them a platform to discuss their opinions in an open way.

“We will not change that approach as a sport. That should be the line of our sport, to give everyone the chance to speak in the right way, not with aggressive tones or to offend but with respect.”

“We keep monitoring the situation. We keep the drivers informed, we meet with the Grand Prix Drivers’ Associations to discuss it. How we can allow the drivers to be open as human beings in our sport. Athletes can be very emotional and passionate about some things and they need to discuss that constructively with people they trust.”