Lewis Hamilton’s statesman-like presence comes to the fore after Styrian GP

Hamilton has been deeply affected by developments around the world following the death in police custody in May of George Floyd, an unarmed African-American man who suffocated after a police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

As the only black F1 driver, Hamilton says he has been confronted by racism all his life, and the aftermath of the Floyd incident and the global protests that followed have galvanised him into action. He has emerged as a powerful and eloquent advocate for change in a sport that clearly lacks diversity.

“What I do see and read and hear is people out there who go on the defensive and say: ‘Well, all lives matter, white lives matter.’ Which is not what we’re contending,” Hamilton said in his post-race news conference.

“It seems that people of colour, for a long time, hundreds of years, their lives seem to be less important. So it’s just trying to get through to people because some people put a wall up, a barrier up.

“It’s because this is stuff that has been shielded from all of us at school, in our upbringing, in our communities. Perhaps there are some people who have not grown up around it, who perhaps have not been around people or friends who have been subject to abuse.

“I have got black friends who have managed to go through life not having any particular abuse in their community. They have grown up in a black community. Whereas there are others like myself who grew up in a white community.

“It is about understanding. And I’ve spent a little bit of time within the sport here talking to some of the drivers.

“I don’t know whether they fully understand just how impactful their voices can be. Or some of them just don’t want to support Black Lives Matter but they stand for anti-racism. But it’s the same thing.

“There are those who said they felt the Black Lives Matter movement seemed political and I’ve made it clear I am not supporting the political side of things; it’s the human rights side.”

Hamilton has set up a commission to look at the causes of the lack of ethnic minority representation in motorsport. He was asked how he would take his ambitions forward, at the next race and beyond. And he said he had not yet made up his mind.

“What we do moving forwards I really don’t know,” he said. “But what I can say is that this is not it.

“Us taking a knee at the start of the race and having a black car doesn’t solve the problem. It helps continue to raise awareness. But we have a whole season, a whole year and it’s a constant fight that we all have to do – including you guys. We can all chip in and do our part and have a positive impact in our environments.”

“When I’m having the discussions with the drivers, the young guns, I’m like: ‘Guys, you are the future of this sport. I am going to try and stay as long as I can but you guys are going to be carrying on the baton and really leading this sport.’

“We together need to set a great example for the world that is watching in fighting the injustice and inequality. I’ll get there. I won’t give up.”