Four drivers reprimanded for not removing their T-shirts during the Hungarian national anthem
Four drivers were reprimanded for forgetting to remove the "We Race As One" t-shirt during the national anthem. Among them, Sebastian Vettel, who wore a rainbow t-shirt to show his support for the LGBTQ+ community in Hungary.
The Hungarian Grand Prix continues to make headlines. Sebastian Vettel, Valtteri Bottas, Carlos Sainz, and Lance Stroll have been reprimanded for not removing the “We Race As One” t-shirts during the Hungarian national anthem.
The first one, who wished to show his support for the LGBTQ+ community during the weekend in Hungary, wore a rainbow t-shirt before the race and still had it on during the anthem. Drivers are only supposed to wear t-shirts during the ceremony when they gather at the front of the grid. As usual, the national anthem follows right after this procedure. Due to the rain and rush, these drivers admitted to forgetting to take them off during an interview with the sports commissioners.
The decision to penalize the drivers has caused a stir on social media. However, they were aware of the rules since the beginning of the 2021 season according to Michael Masi, the race director of the FIA.
Earlier this year, we clarified things. And following an internal discussion with the FIA and Formula 1, we said that we wanted to continue to give all drivers the opportunity to effectively show their support for We Race as One in the way they choose, but the national anthem of a country should be respected with all drivers wearing their race suits.
The drivers will not have a penalty on the grid. Masi explained to Autosport that it is a “non-driving” reprimand, specifying that a grid penalty would be harsh.
« The reprimand is the mildest sanction, apart from the warning, which is not really a sanction. A blame without conduct, so you must have two blames for conduct and one without conduct to reach a grid penalty. For example, three reprimands without conduct do not have this impact. »
Vettel ready to start again
On the microphone of Sky Sports, Sebastian Vettel declared that he was ready to start again despite the risk of being disqualified.
« I am happy if they disqualify me (the sports officials). They can do whatever they want with me, I don’t care. »
