The British driver has responded to Nelson Piquet’s racist slur by continuing to demand action on diversity in the sport
ere Lewis Hamilton’s task on track not hard enough, Formula One has long presented an altogether more formidable struggle. Before this weekend’s British Grand Prix he was served another stark reminder of the unpleasant reality that race remains a serious issue for the only black driver in the sport. Hamilton has faced it down with grace and stoicism.
Hamilton’s reaction to Piquet’s comments was to demand action. He was in a strong position to do so, already going high as Obama advised. On Thursday he announced the, a joint commitment with his Mercedes team to improve diversity in the sport for which he and the team have created a $6.2m fund. David Richards is a former F1 team principal who has been involved in the sport all his life and is the chair of Motorsport UK. He has known and followed Hamilton since he first made a mark in karting. Richards is astute, thoughtful and above all an enthusiast for improving the sport. Unsurprisingly he has only admiration for Hamilton’s determination to make a difference.
Richards dismisses those objections and notes that in fact the sport has been enriched by Hamilton’s contribution. “I bet you the very same people that criticise him for what he’s doing would also criticise him for not standing up for these issues if he said nothing,” he said. “He has a platform and he uses it appropriately, he uses it for the inclusion debate and the racism issues and the environment. I applaud him for it.