Lewis Hamilton has been a victim of racism for most of his life. Additionally, he has spoken against the situation. The Brit also supported the Black Lives Matter Movement during the races and gave a voice to the victims who lost their lives. But with the recent remarks by Helmut Marko towards Sergio Perez, the driver has spoken up against verbal racial abuse.
But with the growing attention to the comments made by Helmut Marko, Lewis Hamilton has spoken on it. When talking to Sky Sports, he said, “Teams [in the past] when they’ve had individuals, particularly drivers, make [racist] comments – they usually are removed or at least they put out a quote and say they don’t support that sort of thing. So, it is interesting that they haven’t done so for this one but…. It’s not my team, and it’s not how we [at Mercedes] move as a team.”
“It’s completely unacceptable”
Lewis Hamilton has expressed his disappointment at Helmut Marko’s comments about Sergio Perez, where the Red Bull motorsport advisor blamed Perez’s inconsistent form this season on his ethnicity. pic.twitter.com/JL0TmSuiqH
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) September 14, 2023
Red Bull had posted on their social media back when Juri Vips had made a racist comment. However, with the lack of an official statement on the situation surrounding Marko, fans are furious. Helmut Marko has apologized to Checo however fans are not very convinced with no legal actions by F1 or Red Bull. Max Verstappen also spoke out about his boss’ behavior to Sky Sports. Nonetheless, the authorities have been quiet on the situation.
The racism Lewis Hamilton experienced on his F1 journey
Lewis Hamilton has been completely open about his F1 journey and the racial abuse he has faced. Ever since he was in school, Hamilton has been treated differently by peers and teachers. When he opened up about the situation on Jay Shetty’s Podcast, he told him his experience. In school, the star was never chosen to play with the kids and was often called racial slurs and had kids throw things at him. Soon he went on to kart and was in a Junior karting club. Despite that, he was treated differently.
But as he became a Formula 1 star, he said the past would not repeat himself considering his achievements. But soon he started becoming a victim of the racist comments all over again in the sport. When he was winning championships, the driver was alone and being vocally abused. However, he had someone special to lean on. Lewis Hamilton became the center of attention again after Nelson Piquet made racist comments towards him. After this Formula 1 had the three-time champion banned from the sport and started the We Race As One campaign.
@LewisHamilton interview with Jay Shetty. pic.twitter.com/fgt2a12QvP
— edgar (@edgarbrains) January 23, 2023
However, the subtle racism continues with the latest example at hand. A person should be respected equally regardless of their skin color. Someone’s race should not be the deciding factor of their relevancy or capabilities. Especially F1 drivers who risk their lives to bring their best for the team, regardless of the performance, should be shown respect.
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