‘Kneeling was the right thing… I want people to be excited to be part of the change’: Lewis Hamilton prepared to take the knee again to fight against racism… but will not force any fellow F1 drivers to follow his lead after SIX refused
- Lewis Hamilton has been a leader in talking about the lack of diversity in sport
- He and many other fellow drivers took a knee before the Austrian Grand Prix
- He says he will do it again, but won’t force the other drivers to follow his lead
Lewis Hamilton is prepared to ‘take a knee’ again, but will not force any of his fellow Formula One drivers to follow his lead.
The six-time world champion was speaking after leading Formula One in an anti-racism demonstration before Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix, in which he finished fourth.
Six drivers — including Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen — refused to take a knee, feeling Hamilton was applying undue pressure on them to prove their anti-racism credentials. He had controversially claimed that ‘silence is complicity’.
Current F1 champion Lewis Hamilton has been a leader in talking about more diversity in sport
Formula One’s division came to the fore as a number of drivers did not take the knee for BLM
With the next race coming on Sunday, in Austria again, Hamilton is taking a more conciliatory approach.
He said: ‘Awareness has been raised over the last few weeks. We don’t need it to die a silent death with no change.
‘I can be the guinea pig and keep speaking out. But nobody should be forced into a scenario where they have to kneel.
‘I am really grateful to those who did it along with me. It is a powerful message, but whether you kneel or do not kneel, it is not going to change the world. It is a bigger issue than that.
Six drivers, including Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen, chose to stand rather than kneel
‘Everyone had a right to that choice and for me kneeling was the right thing.’
All the drivers wore ‘End Racism’ T-shirts on the grid prior to the national anthem, while the FIA, the sport’s governing body, on Sunday pledged nearly a million pounds to fight racism.
Hamilton added: ‘This protest started with Colin Kaepernick (the NFL star in the US). It was a powerful statement and he lost his job and never got it back.
‘I spoke to him before the US Grand Prix in 2017 and I had a helmet with his number on the top.
Lewis Hamilton has been a vocal supporter of the BLM movement and took the knee on Sunday
‘But I was silenced and told to back down. I regret that, so it was important for me to play my part this time.
‘Whether I have the opportunity to take the knee again, I don’t know.
‘In the background, I will continue to improve my education. I don’t want it to be a case of people feeling forced. I want people to be excited to be part of the change.
‘Black Lives Matter is not about the politics for me — it’s about equality.’
Hamilton tweeted after the race: ‘Today was an important moment for me and all the people out there who are working for and hoping for change. For a more equal and just society.
Hamilton tweeted after the race that ‘this fight is about equality, not politics or promotion’
‘I may get criticism in the media and elsewhere, but this fight is about equality, not politics or promotion. To me it was an emotional and poignant chapter in the progress of making F1 a more diverse and inclusive sport.
‘I want a better future for our generation and the ones after us. There is so much that needs to be done.
‘No one is perfect but if we all chip in and do our part, we can see change. I truly believe that.
‘Thank you to my team for their incredible support and hard work this weekend and thank you to all who supported. Let’s keep pushing, guys. See you next week. Love. #EndRacism #BlackLivesMatter’