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Lewis Hamilton has expressed his views in the latest racism row and stated that F1 needs to stop giving the older voices a platform. In a SkyF1 exclusive, Hamilton talked about how the views of these individuals are no longer representative of the direction F1 as a sport is planning to take.
The Briton said:
“I don’t know why we are continuing to give these older voices a platform because they’re speaking upon our sport and we’re looking to go somewhere completely different. And it’s not representative, I think, of who we are as a sport now and where we’re planning to go.”
“These old voices are, you know, whether subconsciously or consciously, do not agree that people like me, for example, should be in a sport like this, do not agree women should be here.”
The Mercedes driver also talked about how he had been on the receiving end of racism and negativity for a long time and all of this was nothing new to him. He said:
“I’ve been on the receiving end of racism, criticism, negativity, archaic narratives and undertones of discrimination for a long, long time, and there’s nothing really particularly new for me. It’s more about the bigger picture.”
Our sport is looking to go somewhere completely different: Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton further questioned why F1 was providing a platform for these archaic voices, stressing that most of the older voices have values that do not coincide with the direction F1 plans to take. In recent times, the sport has sent a message of "We Race As One" which has propagated unity in diversity as well.
Lewis Hamilton also touched on the plans of the sport to go to South Africa and the US, and that such values are not representative of the times. He said:
“I don’t know why we are continuing to give these older voices a platform. They’re speaking upon our sport and we’re looking to go somewhere completely different. If we’re looking to grow in the US, other countries, South Africa, we need to look to the future and give the younger people a platform, who are more representative of today’s time. It’s not just about one individual, it’s not about the one use of that term, it’s the bigger picture.”
The racism debate has taken an ugly turn in the last couple of weeks in F1. During the 2022 F1 British GP, it is surely going to be one of the biggest points of discussion for everyone involved.
