Formula 1 has said it supports Lewis Hamilton as he joins the fight against systemic racism.

The six-time world champion has been very vocal on social media as part of the Black Lives Matter movement that has grown significantly since the death of George Floyd last month.

And Hamilton is expected to make his most public show of solidarity by taking a knee when the new season starts in Austria next month.

“This is a very important issue and we support anyone who wants to show their support in the fight against racism,” an F1 spokesman said on that possibility.

F1 motorsport boss Ross Brawn also reaffirmed the sport is backing Hamilton in his push for change.

“Lewis is a great ambassador for the sport and his comments are very valid," he told Sky Sports. "We support him completely.”

 

 

 

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This past week, I have felt so inspired by the thousands of people across the globe using their voices to speak out against racial injustice. Fighting for real change starts with us, whether peacefully protesting, showing support on social media or signing petitions. However, our fight for equality must continue beyond this. Racism is a global disease and one which we must tackle with our votes as well as our voices. Please do your research and ensure the politicians you vote into power have everyone’s best interests at heart. The prejudice against black people at a systemic level has got to stop. For those looking for ways to support, I have provided information on petitions you can sign, as well as some books and films to learn more about the black experience. For the next generation, this education into black history should be starting at school. The global curriculum needs to be updated to include the struggles and successes of black people throughout the centuries, otherwise history is destined to repeat itself. As we have seen with the arrest and elevated charges for the officers who killed George Floyd, there is power in our voices, we can bring about change, and we must continue to fight for racial equality. For those of you who are out there fighting, know that I see you and I am right by your side. #blacklivesmatter

A post shared by Lewis Hamilton (@lewishamilton) on Jun 11, 2020 at 10:00am PDT

Of course, Hamilton's activism hasn't sat well with everyone, but F1's director of strategy and business development, Yath Gangakumaran, believes the time has come for those with a platform to use it.

“I think any organisation or person who has millions of people following them has a duty in many ways to highlight any imperfections that are innate within their area," he said, speaking at the 2020 FIA eConference.

"I think what Lewis has done has really helped hasten some of the change we want to see within Formula 1. In a couple of weeks’ time, you’ll start to hear more publicly about what we’re going to do.

"I think the days of sports stars being told to stick to their sports as it were are over.

"You’ve seen what [Marcus] Rashford has done in the last couple of days, Raheem Sterling again using a UK example, pushing for more ethnic minority representation on sports boards, obviously Lewis as well.

"I think this is going to be a trend that will continue. Ultimately if you want to be on the right side of history, it’s important that you’re on the right side of that trend, and that you have purpose central to what you do as an organisation."

Also Read:

• F1 drivers join Hamilton in condemning racism after Floyd death
• Hamilton wants a more diverse, more accessible F1 in an era of 'wealthy kids'

The debate though isn't without its pitfalls, as shown by the incident in recent days regarding alleged comments by Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko that drew an angry response from Hamilton.

Later, it emerged the quotes, which suggested Hamilton could be "distracted" by the BLM moment, were fake and apologies have been issued both from the website that published them and from Lewis to Marko, with Red Bull saying the matter had been resolved "in good faith".

“He is emotionally very involved,” Marko said on Lewis' initial reaction to the alleged comments via Instagram.

“As a racing driver, he is not obliged to do research whether this is true or not. In that respect, his reaction is understandable to me.

“I am not a racist. We have employees in our team from I don’t know how many nations.

“This has always been the case in our junior program, too. In my company I have employees from about 15 nationalities.”