Feedback: your letters
As a fan of more than 50 years’ standing, one of the attractions of following motorsport is the ability to escape the ‘news’
Sport allows an escape from politics
Your editorial was a bit contentious last week. I disagree completely: for me, as a fan of more than 50 years’ standing, one of the attractions of following motorsport is the ability to escape the ‘news’.
Knowing that Autosport wishes to remain objective in its reporting, and in the interest of a more balanced viewpoint than the one put forward by Lewis Hamilton, it should be observed that the Black Lives Matter movement is openly Marxist, with an agenda including the abolition of capitalism and defunding of the police.
No right-thinking individual disagrees with racial equality, but I think that Lewis has made the wrong choice in aligning himself with this particular body, and I wonder whether the other drivers are aware that BLM stands for much more than just opposition to racial injustice.
We may never know, but it is possible that Hamilton’s poor showing at the Austrian Grand Prix arose from lapses of concentration, with his focus split between his driving and his politicising?
Paul Richards
Norfolk
Where do we draw the line?
Your editorial (9 July) says that it is plainly ridiculous that sport should be kept separate from politics. The problem with this view is you either have to look at every issue from a political standpoint or otherwise be selective, which is illogical. If there is a Chinese GP, for example, surely we should be boycotting it in view of their concentration camps and repression in Hong Kong?
Andrew Wallace
Hitchin, Herts
Look behind the slogan
When Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 and Autosport (Alex Kalinauckas) state support for the Black Lives Matter organisation, it must be implied that they support this organisation’s values, agenda, policies and actions, not just the name! I somehow doubt the unimaginably wealthy Lewis Hamilton has actually bothered to look behind the slogan ‘Black Lives Matter’ to find out just what he is advocating!
I always considered myself very fortunate to have been working in F1 at a time and in a position where I was able to make a positive contribution to enabling Lewis Hamilton to win his first world championship and was always elated when he won. The superficiality, lack of interest in facts and mob mentality displayed at this time make me very disappointed in him.
James Gardiner
By email
Is Mercedes’ livery a step too far?
While I hold the Mercedes F1 team and Lewis Hamilton in high regard for their achievements and would agree with their stance on equality, I would ask if they have gone a step too far in painting the cars black, the wearing of black driving suits, helmets, etc? Times do move on, but we should remember motor racing is still essentially a sport. John Marsh
By email