Hamilton: No protest, I just want to win it
LEWIS Hamilton put himself at the heart of America’s political maelstrom yesterday by prioritising winning the US Grand Prix ‘in the midst of all that is going on in this country’.
The British driver added: ‘You know what I mean.’
That final sentence was a cryptic remark, and, when asked to clear up its exact meaning, Hamilton said it was not intended for the wider audience but ‘to the gentleman at the front here,’ referring to a black American blogger.
It is safe to assume that Hamilton was taking a swipe at Donald Trump, whose presidency he has criticised several times in recent months.
Hamilton, who takes a 59point lead over Sebastian Vettel into Sunday’s race, supports the NFL players who are staging racial protests during the American national anthem by going down on one knee. So he was asked if he would follow suit when the StarSpangled Banner is sung before the grand prix here.
He was said: ‘I don’t really have a position, and I don’t have any plans.
‘There has been a lot of mention of the whole situation. I know a lot of people in America, so I get to speak to a lot of black and white people who live here. I get quite a good view of what is happening in the States, and about the [NFL] movement, which is pretty huge. I have posted about it [online] because I respect it highly. I find the movement awesome. I am very much in support of it. But I am here to win and that is at the top of my priorities. I am not really focused on anything else.’
Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso was yesterday confirmed as a McLaren driver for next season, ending a long saga. The Spaniard, 36, will earn an annual salary of £20m on what the team are calling a multiyear contract, but which holds no guarantees of his participation beyond 2018.
Alonso’s signature was long expected, given that he had no options in the paddock.