“It creates divisions”– Former Ferrari driver disagrees with Lewis Hamilton’s activism

“It creates divisions”– Former Ferrari driver Mario Andretti wants Lewis Hamilton to separate politics from the sport, as it “divides”.

Lewis Hamilton has constantly been vocal about his anti-racism ideologies and has made it a ubiquitous part of his life, and its appearance in Formula 1 is also observed.

However, Hamilton has also faced criticism from his adversaries for his upfront activism in the sport, and Mario Andretti, former Alfa Romeo and Ferrari driver, thinks that the Briton should separate both things.

“I’ve expressed my opinion on this before, and I was criticized for that,” Andretti says to Motorsport-Total.com. “I don’t like politics in sports. The nice thing about the Olympics is that delegations from all over the world come together.”

“They’re all the same, and they all have the same goal, regardless of your background. When you get politics involved, it creates divisions. If you say something that is slightly questionable, the discussions immediately start,” Andretti continued.

Shouldn’t impose agenda

Andretti firmly believes that F1 shall remain as a pure sport, and should not be mixed with other agendas, as he is apparently accusing Hamilton of that.

“I don’t think it should be mixed. Formula 1 has to remain a pure sport. We all have our values, but I don’t think we should impose our own agenda,” Andretti said.

Why should F1 be an exception?

When the Black Lives Matter movement sparked across the world, every major league in the world expressed solidarity towards the cause, be it the Premier League, NFL, NBA or NASCAR.

So, why F1 being a global sport with a rising audience should be aloof of the cause. In contrast, F1 should be more involved as for long it has been accused of being an exclusive sport to a certain elite section of society, and now would have been a brilliant opportunity to come out of that prejudice.

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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