“There are times where you have to be very diplomatic”– Lewis Hamilton on his new approach against racism

“There are times where you have to be very diplomatic”– Lewis Hamilton on his new approach in calling out authorities for racism.

Lewis Hamilton for long has been vocal against the systematic racism in the sport, and last year after the George Floyd killing in the United States, he has been an active participant in the Black Lives Matter movement.

He tried to bring a similar dialogue against racism during the 2020 season and convinced a few of his colleagues to show solidarity support by taking a knee before every Grand Prix race.

But now, Hamilton has preferred taking a less radical approach and finds other subtle ways more convenient and effective, as he shared his thoughts with the Guardian.

“At the beginning of the year, I was very outspoken and calling out the sport,” said Hamilton, who opened his championship defence by winning in Bahrain.

“At the time, that was the right thing for me, but I discovered that there are times where you have to be very diplomatic, where there’s more you can do by discussions in the background, rather than embarrassing people.

“I’m having conversations, trying to hold people in the sport more accountable. I’m constantly sending emails, I’m constantly on Zoom calls with Formula One and challenging them like they wouldn’t want to be challenged.”

I retiring from F1 is not a solution for F1.

In a conversation with Wired UK, Lewis Hamilton talked about the possibility of quitting F1, one of the major sports that extensively contributes to environmental degradation. Still, the Brit opines that he is just a small piece in a massive puzzle that can be replaced.

“What are my options? I could quit. The positives of that are that I won’t be driving a car around 20 different tracks; we’ll be flying less. But the fact is, if I stop, the thing will keep going. They’re not going to stop for me.”

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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