Formula 1 Driver Lewis Hamilton Will Wear a Rainbow Helmet in Miami Grand Prix to Protest LGBTQ Legislation in Florida

Darko Bandic/AP

Formula One’s Lewis Hamilton will wear a rainbow helmet in the Miami Grand Prix as a show of support for the LGBTQ community. He has openly criticized legislation in Florida he believes is harmful to members of that community.

Speaking with the Associated Press, he called the law dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law “not good at all.”

“I stand by those within the community here,” Hamilton said. “I hope they continue to stand firm and push back. I’ll have the rainbow on my helmet. It’s no different to when we were in Saudi (Arabia).”

As noted in the AP report, the rainbow helmet isn’t new for Hamilton. He regularly wears it when racing in countries with controversial laws regarding the LGBTQ community.

Hamilton also made sure to clarify that his stance was firmly against lawmakers.

“It’s not the people of Miami that are making these decisions, it’s the people in government and that’s the issue,” he said. “I think, hopefully, all I can do – the sport is going to be here whether I am or not – but the least I can do is just continue to be supportive and just being here and having that on my helmet, hopefully that speaks well to the subject.”

Ahead of the 2023 season, the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) – Formula One’s governing body – made a revision to the International Sporting Code restricting drivers from speaking on political issues. Hamilton was open in his opposition to the rule and vowed not to follow it.