Hamilton’s bid to make F1 ‘more diverse’

SIX-TIME world champion Lewis Hamilton is to set up a commission to increase black representation in motorsport.

Hamilton, who previously said he felt ‘so much anger, sadness and disbelief’ after the death of George Floyd, has spoken widely on race in light of protests following the killing in Minneapolis.

He wrote in The Sunday Times that racism was ‘only too familiar to me’ and said while people were quick to condemn racist gestures like monkey noises being shouted at black footballers, they were less quick to address structural issues.

“I’ve been fighting the stigma of racism throughout my racing career – from kids throwing things at me while karting, to being taunted by fans in black face at a 2007 grand prix, one of my first Formula One races,” he said. “I’m used to being one of very few people of colour on my teams and, more than that, I’m used to the idea that no one will speak up for me when I face racism, because no one personally feels or understands my experience.”

He said the aim of his commission would be to make the sport ‘become as diverse as the complex and multicultural world we live in’. He said it would be a ‘research partnership dedicated to exploring how motorsport can be used as a vehicle to engage more young people from black backgrounds with science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects and, ultimately, employ them on our teams or in other engineering sectors’.

Lewis Hamilton

Johanna Konta