Hamilton, Vettel, Norris: FIA president ben Sulayem's controversial comments

Mohammed ben Sulayem has been talking about all things Formula One recently, including talking about the actions of Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Lando Norris.

He’s been the President of the FIA since December last year and he sat down with Grandprix247 for an exclusive interview during the Monaco Grand Prix weekend recently.

During the interview, he talked over a whole host of topics, ranging from his time as a successful rally driver to how he will govern as the top dog at the FIA.

It was a difficult time for him to take the reins given the fallout and controversy over Max Verstappen’s title win in Abu Dhabi last season.

In his interview, he also spoke about the actions of Hamilton, Vettel and Norris away from the sport, claiming:  “Niki Lauda and Alain Prost only cared about driving. Now, Vettel drives a rainbow bicycle, Lewis is passionate about human rights and Norris addresses mental health. Everybody has the right to think. To me, it is about deciding whether we should impose our beliefs in something over the sport all the time.

“I am from an Arabian culture. I am international and Muslim. I do not impose my beliefs on other people? No way! Never. If you look at my operation in the UAE: 16 nationalities! Name me one federation that has that many nationalities.

“On top, there are over 34% women and 7 religions. And even more Christians than Muslims. I am proud because it creates credibility and merit.

“But do I go and pose my beliefs? No. The rules are there, even now there are issues when it comes to – for example- jewellery, I didn’t write that.”

Fans on Reddit discussed the comments, some of the best are: ‘Can’t wait for Seb to turn up riding the most over-the-top, decked-out-in-rainbow-colours bike ever’