Formula One’s Lewis Hamilton wore a rainbow helmet this weekend when he took to the track in the Miami Grand Prix. as a show of support for the LGBTQ community. It was nothing new for the racer who has show support for the LGBTQ+ community and he has openly criticized legislation in Florida he believes is harmful to the community.

“I stand by those within the community here,” Hamilton said to the Associated Press. “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).”He went on to criticize Florida’s “Don’t say gay” law as “not good at all.”

The rainbow helmet isn’t new for Hamilton. He regularly wears it when racing in countries with controversial laws regarding the LGBTQ community. This would appear to be his first time protesting the treatment of the LGBTQ+ community by elected officials here in America. “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.”

The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) – Formula One’s governing body – made a revision to the International Sporting Code ahead of the 2023 season restricting drivers from speaking on political issues. Hamilton however was open in his opposition to the rule and is living up to his vow not to follow it. Hamilton finished the race taking 6th place in the Miami GP and is currently ranked as the number for driver in all of Formula One racing competitions this year. Q