HAMILTON UNHAPPY WITH SOME F1 DRIVERS' 'COMPLICIT SILENCE' ON RACISM
Qualifying had a familiar air as Formula One got back on track for the opening race of the delayed season at the Austrian Grand Prix. Mercedes locked out the front row, with Valtteri Bottas edging out his team-mate, Lewis Hamilton, to pole.
Britain’s reigning world champion was happy with his performance but less so with the lack of a united front in support of the anti-racism cause he has been vigorously pursuing of late. After qualifying, Hamilton revealed his disappointment at what he described as “complicit silence” from some of his fellow drivers.
Hamilton has been vocal and active in his support of Black Lives Matter and discussion has raged at the Red Bull Ring over whether drivers will take the knee on the grid before the race.
Some may choose to do so, although it is understood there are misgivings about making the gesture because of the political nature of the movement. After a meeting of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association on Friday it was agreed all 20 would wear “End Racism” t-shirts, but Hamilton revealed he had hoped more drivers would speak out.
“In the meeting I said thank you to those who have said something on social media because they have a great voice, a great platform and encouraging the others that haven’t to say something,” he said.
“I described the scenario that silence is generally complicit. There still is some silence in some cases. But it is part of a dialogue of people trying to understand. There are still people who don’t fully understand what is happening and the reasons for these protests.”
Hamilton insisted he had not made any decision on whether he would take the knee but when asked if the grid were united behind him he made plain his hope for more than just gestures from his fellow drivers. “We know there is an issue there,” he said. “We don’t need an experience like tomorrow to prove there is an issue.”Lewis Hamilton to set up commission to increase diversity in motor sport
Bottas took pole with a mighty run in F1’s first competitive session of 2020, behind closed doors. In Q3, Bottas strung together a beautiful lap of 1min 02.939sec, but he went wide into the gravel on his second quick run. His first was enough, however. He had pushed perfectly to the edge of the kerb at turn one and on the final double right-hander swept through with inch-perfect precision.
Hamilton charged, but was able to close only to within one-hundredth of a second on his final hot lap. He has been summoned to the stewards over an alleged failure to slow for yellow flags and for leaving the track at Turn 10.