“A surprise that they’re hiring someone that has those beliefs”- Lewis Hamilton objects over choice of Vitaly Petrov as Steward

“A surprise that they’re hiring someone that has those beliefs”- Lewis Hamilton shows objection against Steward appointment of Vitaly Petrov.

Lewis Hamilton has come to disagree with the appointment of Vitaly Petrov as the steward in Formula 1 for the Portuguese Grand Prix this weekend because of the comments Petrov made against Hamilton for his support to the BLM movement.

In an interview for Russian publication Championat, Petrov criticised Hamilton for encouraging drivers to ‘take a knee’ in support of anti-racism protests and the Black Lives Matter movement.

Petrov also questioned whether drivers would “urge everyone to become gay” and race under a rainbow flag if one of their numbers came out.

“I’ve not seen all the quotes – obviously you’ve just recited some of them,” he said. “So yes, of course, that is I would say a surprise that they’re hiring someone that has those beliefs and is so vocal about things that we’re trying to fight against.

“So you should take it up with them, really. There’s nothing I can particularly do about it.” he further said. The Briton driver also remarked that F1’s “#WeRaceAsOne stance is also in contrast with Petrov’s appointment.

“We should definitely be including people here who are with the times, who are understanding of the time we are living in and sensitive to the matters that are surrounding us,” said Hamilton.

“So I don’t really understand what their goal is or why particularly he’s here because it’s not that they don’t have any other good options,” he concluded.

Teammate Valtteri Bottas agrees

During the conversation, Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas who has constantly supported him throughout the movement against racism has once again echoed with Hamilton’s words.

“Obviously I also haven’t heard any of those quotes, and I don’t know them in detail, so it’s tough to say. But I think as Lewis said we all should have the same mindset for the things that we are pushing on.”

The duo is set to feature at Algarve for the Portuguese Grand Prix, where they probably would be eyeing to win yet another race.

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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