Max Verstappen: The Mongolian government has registered an official complaint with the UN against Red Bull driver’s ‘mongol’ comments directed towards Lance Stroll at Portimao.
Max Verstappen is not having the greatest of time on the race track, but off it too, there seems to be trouble brewing for him. After his derogatory ‘mongol’ tirade on team radio directed towards Lance Stroll at Portimao, the Mongolian government has moved to take action against him and Red Bull.
In a detailed letter to the UN’s representatives on matters relating to racism, Lundeg Purevsuren, Mongolia’s permanent representative to the UN, has protested against the Dutch’s choice of words. He added the instance from the 2017 United States Grand Prix, where the driver had used the same word.
“It is (obvious) that he and the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Team did not learn the lesson in 2017, insisting that it was not his problem if anyone (was) offended by his language. Unfortunately, lack of proper response from the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Team management and their attempts to stop the driver’s unacceptable behaviour as ’emotional outburst’ have a negative effect on their image.”
The letter was sent to Li Yanduan, the chairperson of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and E. Tendayi Achiume, the UN’s special rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism. A copy of it was also sent to FIA’s president Jean Todt.
“Recalling the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination adopted in 1965 and the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, endorsed in 2011, in its articles 11 to 15, I urge for your support to take actions against Max Verstappen and the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Team and their sponsors for his unacceptable behaviour of repeatedly using racist and derogatory language against any ethnic groups in order to prevent the recurrence of such unethical behaviour in sports.”
F1’s tryst with racism
The Mongolian government had earlier launched a similar complaint with the FIA, but after not receiving a satisfactory response from Red Bull, UN’s doors have been knocked. Max Verstappen is making a reputation for himself in the grid for his outspokenness. But this was a bit too much, even by his standards.
UN’s involvement in F1 comes days after Amnesty International protested at the idea of an F1 race being held at Saudi Arabia next season. The oil-rich nation is infamous for its discriminatory policies, especially against women.
FIA and F1 are working hard to tackle racism and discrimination in the sport. The ‘#WeRaceAsOne’ initiative was launched this season with this motive. Additionally, the reigning champion Lewis Hamilton has also taken up the matter of more diversity in motorsports. Mercedes is racing in a black livery instead of the traditional silver in support of Hamilton’s initiative.
