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Formula 1 bosses are investigating whether Lewis Hamilton broke the rules at the Tuscan Grand Prix by wearing a T-shirt that highlights police brutality.
An FIA spokesman said the matter was “under active consideration.”
He said the FIA was an apolitical organization and was considering whether Hamilton’s jersey violated its statutes.
The T-shirt read: “Arrest the Cops Who Killed Breonna Taylor,” a black woman who was shot eight times by US police at her Louisville, Kentucky home in March.
Hamilton’s jersey, which he wore during the anti-racism rally before the race and on the podium, also read: “Say his name.”
It was not immediately clear which statute of the governing body of the FIA was in question.
When asked if the FIA considered the jersey to have a political message, the spokesperson said: “That is the consideration we are looking at.”
Taylor was one of several victims of incidents related to police violence in the United States whose names have become war cries for equality and justice.
Hamilton said after winning the race on Sunday: “I wanted to raise awareness about the fact that there are dead people on the street.
“And someone was murdered in their own home and they were in the wrong house And those guys still walk free. “
F1 and the FIA have mounted a campaign against racism and diversity this year, including anti-racism demonstrations before each race.
Hamilton has been at the center of the demonstrations, as the sport’s most prominent figure and its only black driver.
The spokesperson said the FIA had been working with Hamilton on its diversity program this year.
Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff said on Saturday that Hamilton had the full support of the organization in his desire to highlight racial injustice and that it was up to him which jerseys he wanted to wear to demonstrate it.
Wolff said: “There’s no question, it’s totally up to you. Whatever you do, we’ll support it.
“The team is fighting against any kind of racism and discrimination and it is Lewis’ personal fight for Black lives matter and with all the support we can give you. It’s your decision. “
After the race, Mercedes responded to a Twitter user who asked Hamilton to “keep politics out of F1”, saying: “We are not introducing politics into F1 – these are human rights issues that we are trying to address. highlight and about which we are aware.
Wolff added: “Black Lives Matter is something that is important to all of us and we have supported Lewis at all times.”
“The much broader movement is obviously the fight against any kind of racism and discrimination, and we, as a team and as a company, have always placed emphasis on fighting against that injustice.”
The only reference to politics in the statutes is a requirement by the FIA to “refrain from manifesting discrimination based on race, skin color, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic or social origin, language, religion, philosophical or political opinion, situation family or disability in the development of their activities “.
The sporting code prohibits competitors from “placing advertising on their cars that is political or religious in nature or that is detrimental to the interests of the FIA.”
