After the Hungarian Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel, Carlos Sainz, Lance Stroll, and Valtteri Bottas were summoned to see stewards for an unknown cause.
It was quickly apparent, however, as all four wore t-shirts during the national anthem in Hungary, with Vettel’s catching the most attention as he stood in favor of LGBTQ+ by wearing a rainbow t-shirt and mask, with the words “same love” written on his shirt.
The four drivers were reprimanded for their shirts, and race director Michael Masi has subsequently stated why the FIA had issue with them.
“Earlier this year we clarified [things with the drivers],” Masi said. “And following discussion internally with the FIA and F1, we said we wanted to keep giving all of the drivers the ability to have the moment to show effectively their support for We Race as One however they chose to, but then the national anthem for a particular country should be respected with drivers all wearing their race suits.
“So it was clarified and made very clear that once that moment was displayed and the drivers showed their recognition they would have to remove their shirt or anything else they wore and go to the national anthem in their race uniform.
“And that’s been the same for a number of events now, so this is the first event where it has happened since and all of those drivers that kept their shirts on, so it wasn’t just Sebastian, there were four or five drivers, all received a non-driving reprimand for failing to follow the race director’s instructions.
“It was observed by a number of people including the media delegate whose out there. Myself on television. It went from me to the stewards, it was a breach and that’s why it was a reprimand for the first offence.”
The uniforms of Formula One racing drivers are currently available at the following websites for a reasonable price:
