POWER AND THE GLORY
JONATHAN McEVOY Hamilton mimics 1968 salute and vows to fight on after latest victory
LEWIS HAMILTON spent the weekend delivering vivid statements of black power. One in the car by his imperious driving, the others in symbolic gestures that matter to him so profoundly.
No sooner had he won the Styrian Grand Prix than eyes up here in the press room peered out of the window on to the asphalt below where, first on top of his specially black-liveried Mercedes, then on the podium, he raised a fist to the sky.
Recent events in America, with the killworld ing of George Floyd by a white policeman, have aggravated the racist scars Hamilton has felt all his conscious 35 years, and he was never going to let his first victory of the season pass without a public expression of his feelings.
A remote-control trolley delivered the winner’s trophy to Hamilton on the makeshift podium plinth, moved to the track and socially distanced for these coronavirus-impinged times. Holding the gold bauble down his left side, he lifted his closed right hand to the sky. He tilted his head down.
This time he was bareheaded. On the car, minutes before, he had still been wearing his helmet, and the legend ‘Black Lives Matter’ pointed at the cameras.
This was all a deliberate echo of the 1968 Mexico Olympics, when the two African-Americans who finished first and third in the 200 metres, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, performed the same ritual on the long corner towards racial parity.
Hamilton committed himself last night to carry on the battle all his life. He might be cheered to consider how things have improved, however much, however little, since 1968. Smith and Carlos’s defiant statement was met with open opprobrium, death threats and vile epithets that would no longer be remotely acceptable. The Unrivalled: Hamilton’s black Mercedes crosses the line to win by almost 14sec GETTY IMAGES champion — who set up victory with a fabulous amphibious lap in a perilous qualifying session on Saturday, of which more celebratory words later — had led the pre-race grid in taking a knee. Eleven of his fellow drivers followed suit. Six stood. Two were non-arrivals, so who knows whether they would have genuflected or not.
All wore ‘End Racism’ Tshirts, but the lack of choreographed unity looked messy. Hamilton, who headed a Mercedes one-two by finishing an unchallenged 13.7sec ahead of team-mate Valtteri Bottas, explained what had happened behind the scenes over the weekend. ‘We are learning along the way,’ he said. ‘The drivers spoke in our briefing about what we intended to do.
‘Some were asking how long we have to continue to do this. Some felt doing it once last week was enough.
‘I just had to encourage them that, look, racism is going to be here for longer than we live, and people of colour who are subjected to racism don’t have time to rest for a moment. We have to continue to push for equality and raise awareness. ‘I don’t know what we can do moving forward but to have Valtteri and the team kneeling before the race was really huge, and I am incredibly grateful for their understanding.
‘There are nice signs as a sport, but action is needed. For me, it is going to be a lifelong thing.’
A race as well as a protest took place here in the heavily wooded Styrian hills, the first grand prix to be named after the region, to differentiate it from last week’s Austrian Grand Prix at the same venue, the 2.68-mile Red Bull Ring.
That edition was full of thrills and spills. Yesterday’s was more prosaic. The drama this weekend came on Saturday, Hamilton setting a pole time 1.2sec faster than the next best, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. It was one of the best performances of the champion’s life, perhaps of any career.
Whereas he was out of sorts — fourth — last Sunday, this, his 85th victory, kickstarted his title defence. He is now six points behind Bottas, but uplifted heading to race No3 of this condensed season in Hungary later this week.
What else to report? Charles Leclerc’s over-ambition taking him into the side of his Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel on lap one, forcing both to retire.
And, on a brighter note, McLaren’s Lando Norris overtaking two cars on the last circuit to finish fifth. The 20year-old from Bristol, showing signs of more guts and guile, lies third in the standings.
So far none of nearly 9,000, brain-tickling Covid tests has turned up a positive result among the travelling pack.
Indeed, the two opening races, held at the same venue for the first time in 70 years of the championship, have passed smoothly, albeit without fans.
Some enthusiasts advanced as far as the perimeter fencing and pushed their noses through. Others looked down from high among the pines to witness a race with one clear hero.