In 2020 following George Floyd’s death, there was a widespread movement across the world to identify and root out racism. Many sports personalities used their platform to raise awareness of the matter. And one of the most outspoken personalities was Lewis Hamilton.
The 7-time World Champion is the only black driver on the F1 grid. And across his entire F1 career, Lewis has been one of the leading voices criticising the lack of diversity in motorsports and F1.
He was one of the first racers to take a knee as a symbol of protest against racism. Hamilton wore T-shirts in support of the “Black Lives Matter” movement as he collected his race wins.
But even an established star like Hamilton faced backlash from the sport and his sponsors. Lewis’s outspoken criticism landed him in hot waters as FIA and F1 began to curb the messaging during race weekends.
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Lewis Hamilton risked it all to raise a voice against injustice
Lewis Hamilton revealed on the Jay Shetty Podcast that he had cried the most after George Floyd’s death. The Briton claimed that he let out all his bottled-up emotions and felt vulnerable after being a victim of racism since his childhood days.
Lewis felt like he must raise a voice against injustice. Having been a victim of racism since his karting days, he felt like it was high time to make an impact.
Ahead of taking a knee, Hamilton thought to himself, “With what is happening in the world, I have got to be outspoken. Because if I don’t do it then no one going to do it”
Making political statements in F1 is shunned. And the sport has resorted to keeping itself stray from political issues. And going against the rules was a daring move by Hamilton.
Being a 7-time World Champion, Lewis has a long list of high-profile sponsors like IWC, Tommy Hilfiger, Monster Energy, and Puma. The Briton rakes $8 Million a year from sponsor deals
He added, “I wanted to let people like me know that I care, that I am with you and will risk it all for you. I didn’t care if my partners wanted to drop me because they didn’t want to be associated with this narrative.”
The driver could have been banned or lost sponsorship by being expressive and outspoken. But the fear of keeping quiet deterred the Mercedes driver from doing so.
Hamilton did not inform his team he was going to take the Knee
Lewis Hamilton led the contingent of 14 drivers who took a knee ahead of the races during the 2020 F1 season. Lewis took the knee ahead of every race he started and wore t-shirts bearing the ‘Black Lives Matter’ slogan.
However, Hamilton never revealed to his team that he will be taking the knee. He feared his team members would not understand how much the act would meant to him.
“I remember I didn’t feel like I had to tell the team. Because I felt like they wouldn’t understand how important it is for me to do this. I just wore my Black Lives Matter T-shirt hidden. And I just wore it out there.”
Formula 1 also handed out ‘End Racism’ T-shirts under their ‘We Race As One’ campaign. But Lewis ditched the T-shirts and chose to be more direct with his messaging.
He recalls, “The sport had made these T-shirts, and they gave these to everyone. And I was like, ‘I’m not wearing that.’ Because that is not what this is about.”
Hamilton later revealed Mercedes backed him and supported his motion. He is currently working on a diversity charter, by which all F1 teams will hire personnel from different backgrounds.
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