Lewis Hamilton will continue to wear his LGBTQ+ collective ‘rainbow helmet’ in the season’s last two races.
Lewis Hamilton had first introduced the rainbow flag design at the first-ever Lusail international circuit. The design represents the LGBTQ+ community. Hamilton carried the helmet as a message to the nation’s laws which clash with that section of society.
The seven-time world champion will continue to wear the helmet at F1’s following two destinations – Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi.
He said, “I’m not afraid of any comments or anything negative. In the past, I said ‘we are together’ and ‘love is love’, and it’s important for me to represent that community here, where there are many situations that aren’t perfect and we must improve.”
He also said that he wants to know what is happening in these two countries and what is the authorities doing to help the LGBTQ+ collective.
‘Equal rights is a serious issue’ – Lewis Hamilton
FIA’s decision to put Qatar and Saudi Arabia on the calendar with a long term contract proved controversial. It was not just about the issues concerning LGBTQ+. There were also concerns over the human rights records for both countries.
However, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali had said the sport is going to these nations to inspire change. Shutting them off would have risked creating a negative impact.
In recent times, Saudi Arabia has welcomed several major sporting events, with Qatar hosting the 2022 football World Cup. Hamilton also sees it essential for the sports organisations and F1 to highlight issues in these countries during their visit.
Furthermore, he said, “I think when these sports go to places like that, they have a duty to raise awareness about those issues. These countries need the media to talk about these things – equal rights is a serious issue.”
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