Lewis Hamilton: FIA trust weakened by F1’s recent scandals, controversy

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton said it was increasingly difficult for fans to trust Formula One's governing body the FIA, adding that its president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, had no never had his support.

Her comments follow several weeks of scandals and controversy in F1, which intensified further on Wednesday when Susie Wolff, head of the all-female F1 Academy racing series, revealed she had filed a criminal complaint against the FIA.

Hours before Wolff made his legal action public, the FIA ​​announced that an independent investigation by its compliance department had cleared Ben Sulayem of any wrongdoing in a separate complaint relating to whistleblower accusations of interference in the race and refusal of certification of the Las Vegas circuit.

When Hamilton was asked by journalists at a press conference ahead of this weekend's Australian Grand Prix whether Ben Sulayem still had his support as FIA president, he replied: “He doesn't never did.”

Wolff's legal action concerns a short-lived FIA investigation into an alleged conflict of interest between the F1 Academy director and her husband Toto, the Mercedes F1 team principal.

Hamilton said he hoped Wolff's decision to remove his complaint from the governing body's jurisdiction and take it to court would force the FIA ​​into greater transparency and accountability.

“First of all, I am incredibly proud of Susie,” said the Mercedes driver. I think she is so courageous and she stands for such great values. She is such a leader, and in a world where often people are silenced, her standing up sends such a great message .

“I love that she made it through [F1] world, because there is a real lack of accountability here, in this sport, within the FIA, things that happen behind closed doors, there is no transparency, there is really no responsibility, and we need it.

“I think the fans need that. How can you trust the sport and what's going on here if you don't have that?

“I hope the stand she is taking now will create change and have a positive impact, especially for women.”

George Russell, Hamilton's teammate at Mercedes and also director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, agreed that greater transparency was needed from the governing body.

“As drivers, we have a role within teams, and you trust that the leaders of this sport have the best interests at heart rather than their own interests,” Russell said. “I think it comes down to the transparency aspect of things.

“If things are transparent and we see the outcome of these cases, we all have the opportunity to judge for ourselves with all the facts and figures we have. But when we don't have the facts and figures , and there is no transparency, we always think that there is something hidden.

“That's why I think it's so important for the sport now, as Lewis said, to send the right message to everyone who supports Formula 1, who watches Formula 1, who wants to imply in Formula 1, that things aren't just swept under the carpet.”

Hamilton also appears to be referring to the recent saga surrounding Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, which has dominated the sport's headlines during the first two races of the 2024 season.

Horner was accused of inappropriate behavior by a female colleague, but was cleared by the F1 team's parent company, Red Bull GmbH, following an independent investigation by a British lawyer earlier this year.

The woman who made the complaint has since been suspended by Red Bull but is reportedly appealing Red Bull GmbH's initial decision.

Although Hamilton did not specifically reference the Red Bull case, he said the sport was not sending the right message to female fans.

“It's still a male-dominated sport, and we live in a time where the message is that if you complain, you'll be fired, and that's a terrible narrative to project to the world, especially when we're talking of inclusivity here in sport,” Hamilton said.

“We need to make sure we stay true to the core values.”