Lewis Hamilton‘s wishes to hold the FIA end-of-year Prize Gala in Paris, France for “sustainability” reasons have fallen on deaf ears. The Brit, a passionate environmentalist and vegan, questioned the environmental impact of flying out to Baku, Azerbaijan for the event this year when the FIA could have hosted the prize-giving in Paris, where their headquarters are based.
But instead of taking Hamilton’s advice, the FIA have chosen to host its 2024 Gala in Kigali, Rwanda – an even greater distance away from northern Europe. When asked how he felt about Baku playing host in 2023, Hamilton, who was in attendance to pick up his third-place trophy, said: “I don’t feel a particular way.
“Whilst I really like Baku, it’s really a beautiful place, questions in my mind of whether the FIA is really actually thinking about sustainability because so many people flew out here and the FIA is in Paris and it just would have been easier to stay there.
“But it’s a beautiful arena, it’s a night we all get to come together and celebrate all the achievements of the great people working in the sport, all the amazing drivers that I wouldn’t get to see during the year.”