Using F1 for things that matter

Motorsport isn’t exactly seen as a force for progressive change, which makes the interventions of Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes team all the more significant

f someone who has run the sport for decades has such a lack of understanding of the deep-rooted issues we as black people deal with every day, how can we expect all the people who work under him to understand? It starts at the top.” Lewis Hamilton wrote this as part of a message on his Instagram page last Friday in response to the appalling comments made by ex-formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, which the championship itself moved to condemn.

On Monday, his Mercedes squad revealed that it will run a black livery for the entire 2020 season as“a statement that we stand against racism and discrimination in all forms”.

It also revealed that just 3% of its workforce comes from minority ethnic backgrounds, and that only 12% are women.

If we take“the top”of F1 in a sporting sense, that unquestionably means Mercedes. The team has clinched double title success in the past six years and therefore sits at the pinnacle of motorsport.

That success has significant value for Mercedes as a business – the two W11 cars it will field for Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas are the prime pieces in what is a valuable and highly rewarding promotional programme for the marque. So, to have those machines displaying a promise to“improve the diversity of our team and our sport”is a tremendous statement, and one that supports Hamilton.

By keeping the livery (which it must be said is also utterly gorgeous) for an entire season, Mercedes is echoing Hamilton’s commitment to“not stop pushing to create an inclusive future for our sport with equal opportunity for all”, as his Instagram message continued.

Throughout recent weeks, as the Black Lives Matter movement has brought fresh attention to the push for racial equality in the wake of George Floyd’s killing, phrases such as‘keep sport and politics separate’or‘stick to racing’come up again and again – and they are completely missing the point.

It’s frustrating to see any anti-racism message attacked for being‘political’when it’s such a clear-cut issue. But it is more frustrating still that certain politicians have used racism to sow division in our societies and use this for their own gain.

F1 is its own society – one that has been willing to walk the‘sport and politics don’t mix’line uniquely throughout its history. The colours of the initial grand prix teams were associated with specific nationalities, it went behind the Iron Curtain when the Hungarian Grand Prix joined the calendar in the closing years of the Cold War, and the 1985 South African GP went ahead despite a boycott by French squads Renault and Ligier following the French government’s sanctioning of the country over apartheid. In more recent years, races in Bahrain and Russia have been staged despite specific issues regarding human rights, which can be levelled at many other countries that F1 visits during a‘normal’, pandemic-free calendar.

“Racism and discrimination have no place in our society, our sport or our team: this is a core belief at Mercedes,”said

Toto Wolff regarding his team’s adoption of the new livery.

“But having the right beliefs and the right mindset isn’t enough if we remain silent.”

Meaningful change on any subject in any society can’t happen simply by shouting down those on the opposing side – as difficult as that can be to accept sometimes.

Which is why Hamilton’s continued calls to promote education and discussion are so important.

The issue of problematic statues provides an example. Surely more people than ever have learned about the despicable means by which Edward Colston made his fortune since his statue was toppled in Bristol. Criminal damage should never be condoned, but by focusing on statues of people with a racist history, we learn why they are problematic and why it is wrong to venerate them in modern society.

By painting its 2020 cars in a livery designed to support F1’s only black driver, Mercedes has helped send a powerful message. It will sit alongside the other sporting statements that have been aimed at making a difference in recent weeks – such as the English Premier League replacing player names with

Black Lives Matter on the back of their shirts, and the players themselves taking a knee at the start of each match.

Allied to F1’s We Race as One commitment – and not forgetting that Hamilton’s intervention has already made a significant impact, with many of his fellow drivers offering their public support for a cause some admitted they had struggled to find the words to address – the livery will serve as a constant reminder to keep the conversations going this year and beyond.

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“Meaningful change can’t happen by shouting down those on the opposing side”

With the beginning of the new-look Formula 1 season now imminent, the excitement is building. After the false dawn of Australia, and with the unfortunate and sad weeks we have recently endured, it’s great to have some action to look forward to once again.

So I thought maybe an official minute’s silence for the racing fans that have been lost over the past few months, before the start of the first race, would be a respectful opening to a great F1 (half) year and of course with it, a welcome return through my door of the splendid Autosport publication. Here’s to a gripping, close season. MA Smith

By email

Insightful guide to making motorsport work

I have just finished reading Ross Brawn and Adam Parr’s book Total Competition. I think it should be required reading for anyone involved in F1 and other motorsports.

The points raised and arguments presented are coherent and articulate and offer great insight into how F1 can redeem itself, cut costs, and move forward in unity rather than the current semi-dysfunctional approach as it appears to many of the fans and supporters of F1.

I have written on this subject in the past, but one issue raised was the unbelievable costs of shaving fractions of a second off a lap time. The amounts are obscene in the context of any economic standards and should be proof that changes are absolutely necessary.

Neil Davey

Newport, South Wales

The next big racing merger?

Look ahead five years and consider what happens if the car manufacturers stop writing big cheques for an F1 series that is divergent from their road car direction.

At the same time the Indycar series prospers in its own back yard under Roger Penske, who is a global player at