Formula One star Lewis Hamilton said he was given a huge confidence boost after holding ‘encouraging’ talks with bosses about plans to support anti-racism – but drivers remain divided over taking a knee.
The Mercedes star has heavily backed the Black Lives Matter message after the killing of George Floyd by a white policeman in America in May sparked protests around the world.
Many sports have shown their support for the message by taking a knee but six-time world champion Hamilton has been vocal in his criticism of F1, claiming the ‘white-dominated sport has been silent’ – and recently labelled their efforts to support anti-racism as ’embarrassing’.
Hamilton has taken the knee before every race this season but was furious with F1’s disorganisation after drivers were only given a small window to make the gesture before the Hungarian Grand Prix earlier this month.
Lewis Hamilton admits he is ‘encouraged’ after holding talks with F1 chiefs about anti-racism
The Mercedes driver was frustrated after drivers weren’t given enough time to take a knee before the Hungarian Grand Prix this month
Some F1 drivers have refused to take the knee with six in total, (four circled here) choosing to instead stand before the season opener in Austria
At the time he said the scenes were ’embarrassing’ and that the sport ‘has to do better’, insisting he would speak to bosses about the situation.
But he says there ‘will be unity’ in the fight against discrimination going forwards after having discussions with GPDA chairman Alex Wurz, GPDA director and Haas driver Romain Grosjean, FIA president Jean Todt and F1 chiefs Chase Carey and Ross Brawn.
‘Honestly, I was so encouraged,’ he told Sky Sports.
He said he was lifted by talks with F1 chief Chase Carey (L) and FIA president Jean Todt (R)
An anti-racism display is expected to take place before the British Grand Prix this weekend
‘[I was] really just reiterating that we are actually in this together and we’ve got to work together. So let’s do that, let’s communicate better. So much is going on and sometimes communication is the issue.
‘[We’ve got to] continue to educate each other and help each other so we can understand.
‘I’ve spent time speaking to Alex, I spoke to Jean, so we’re all united. I spoke to Chase and Ross, had really great conversations with them to understand what they’re planning and what they want to do moving forward and just to make sure that they know we’re all on the same team here.
Hamilton feels F1 will be united at British Grand Prix and wants more time to take a knee
‘Things like giving us a bit of extra time at the beginning of the race so we can show how united we are as a sport, because other sports have done a better job of consistently doing that.
‘They’ve been really open-minded and I do think that it needs to continue through the year. I believe at the moment that’s what we’re going to continue to do.’
F1 is now planning an anti-racism display ahead of the British Grand Prix this weekend, although not all drivers are expected to take a knee.
Several drivers have already decided against taking the knee before races this season, including big-name drivers Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen.
Hamilton has been particularly critical of Grosjean after the display in Hungary, accusing him of not wanting to continue the anti-racism efforts and claiming he ‘thinks it was done once and that is all we need to do’.
Hamilton hit out at Romain Grosjean after the Hungary display but the pair have cleared the air
But the 35-year-old said he was pleased after the two cleared the air, with Grosjean saying he was only offering an alternative view to drivers who didn’t want to take part.
‘I’ve heard Romain’s really positive comments already today and we’ll be working in this battle together,’ he added. ‘I see really positive steps forward but it’s going to take work, we still have to continue to stay on it.’
Hamilton, meanwhile, has this week insisted that he was ‘misinterpreted’ after he sparked backlash for sharing an anti-vaxxer video with his 18.3million Instagram followers which accused Bill Gates of lying about Covid-19 vaccine trials.
Hamilton (right) faced fierce criticism after he shared an anti-vaxxer video to his Instagram story (left) which came with the caption: ‘I remember when I told my first lie’
The 35-year-old wrote on social media: ‘I’ve noticed some comments on my earlier post about the coronavirus vaccine, and want to clarify my thoughts on it, as I understand why they might have been misinterpreted.
‘Firstly I hadn’t actually seen the comment attached so that is totally my fault and I have a lot of respect for the charity work Bill Gates does.
‘I also want to be clear that I am not against a vaccine and no doubt it will be important in the fight against coronavirus, and I’m hopeful for its development to save lives.
‘However after watching the video, I felt it showed that there is still a lot of uncertainty about the side effects most importantly and how it is going to be funded. I may not always get my posting right. I’m only human but I’m learning as we go.’