McLaren boss Zak Brown says he is fully behind the FIA's decision to clampdown on drivers making public comments on controversial matters.
It was recently revealed that an update to the FIA's International Sporting Code means that drivers will now need to obtain written permission before making any form of political statement.
The news caused some controversy but not nearly as much as is expected when the season gets underway in March.
It was during the 2020 season, as F1 struggled to put together a revised schedule, that Lewis Hamilton first brought his activism to the grid, initially by wearing a T-Shirt in support of Black Lives Matter and subsequently throwing his weight behind a number of other controversial causes.
As broadcasters quickly jumped on the bandwagon, F1 gave permission for drivers to show their support for various causes before races, however Hamilton's T-Shirt at Mugello - which sported the slogan: 'Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor' on the front and 'Say Her Name' on the back in reference to the black woman killed by police earlier in the year - saw the FIA take action by demanding that at all future races drivers wear their overalls zipped up to the neck.
Nonetheless the activism continued with Sebastian Vettel publicly giving his support to a number of causes, even, somewhat ironically, to the extent of questioning the sport's green credentials.
Amidst fears that drivers will increasingly use the sport's new found popularity to support all manner of causes, the FIA clearly decided it was time to act.
Zak Brown agrees with the move.
"It's tricky," he told ESPN. "Because some of the topics are really good, some are controversial, some are polarising.
"I think in general we want to be a sport that is doing good," he continued. "We just need to find a balance there and not have every start of a race being a new political agenda for someone. I don't think that's healthy as it can detract from what everyone has tuned in to, which is they want to watch a grand prix.
"I'm glad the door is open for drivers and teams to talk to the FIA if there's an issue they want to discuss," he added, referring to the fact that drivers must now seek permission from the sport's governing body. "It wasn't a 'You can't do it', it was 'You can't do it without our permission'. so at least the door is open.
"Everyone is allowed freedom of speech. It did get out of control at times with so much messaging going on... does it detract from the focus of the sport? These drivers can do this stuff in their own time, so I think it is within Formula One and the FIA's right to say here's the code of conduct we expect for you to follow during a grand prix weekend. You're free to do whatever you want to do Monday through to Friday, so to speak, but obviously it's at a grand prix weekend the drivers have the most cameras on them."
It's thought the move followed some of the controversy surrounding the World Cup in Qatar, which, before the tournament got underway, looked likely to be completely overshadowed by protests at the country's record on Human Rights.
"I'm not sure if something triggered it, I don't know if it's coming out of the World Cup and it being a big topic there," admitted Brown. "Politics is tricky by nature. That's what they're probably, at a macro level, trying to avoid is let's not have Formula One become a political hotbed for various topics. But it is damned if you do, damned if you don't, on some of these topics.
"I think that's what we're trying to avoid, let's not turn Formula One into a political sport. Let's just go racing and be respectful of where we're racing.
"There's not a one-size-fits-all in this world for political parties or political agendas, so I think there's a good way that every team, driver, can carry their values in a way that's noncontroversial.
"It's becoming a hot topic in all these sports. In NFL it was taking a knee, that started there. You've got the armbands in Qatar. I think those things can start to deviate away from sport, and that's where we need to find the right balance."
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