The death of George Floyd rocked humanity to its core. It sparked protests worldwide and as sportsmen from around the globe spread a message and showed their support, the world of Formula 1 remained silent. It was only when the sole dark skinned driver on the grid, 6 time champion Lewis Hamilton called out some in the sport on its lack of support and response, that the sport responded to the champion’s call for action and now stands united in support for the cause.
It all began with Lewis Hamilton’s passion for the cause as he launched ‘The Hamilton Commission’ with the goal of improving the diversity in Formula 1. He has received mass support in his endeavor as many such as Formula 1 CEO Chase Carey have donated large sums of money to Hamilton’s foundation. The rest of the drivers too have been vocal in showing their support for the cause in their own ways, be it taking a knee before the season’s inaugural race, or showing their support via social media.
His team too has stood by his side as the Mercedes team changed the colour of their livery from silver to black in an act of solidarity to show support to the BLM movement. The rest of the teams too, have been vocal about the matter with team members seen taking a knee and drivers sporting Black Lives Matter t-shirts before and after the races. Change is in the air and Formula 1 is committed to drive that change and move into a better future. On 22nd June, 2020 Formula 1 launched the #WeRaceAsOne initiative with goals of thanking healthcare workers worldwide, a greener future and of course, more inclusion and diversity in the sport to help it drive change and take its place in the future.
However, there is still a long way to go, and as of today Formula 1 definitely does not represent the diverse, multicultural world we live in today, as pointed out by Hamilton. The fact is that saying one is for a cause is not enough, especially seeing the power and influence the sport has on its followers and community. Until the sport works towards providing opportunities to minorities and moving away from its current white dominated state, the words of support from both drivers and teams mean nothing in the road to diversity.
Still, it is a start. It would be premature to call Formula 1 diverse for sure, but it seems that at long last, the pinnacle of motorsport is on the road to equality. Though the goal may be far, if Formula 1 takes the required steps, the sport will one day contribute to an equal, diverse society.
The death of George Floyd rocked humanity to its core, sparking protests worldwide. As sportsmen around the globe stood in solidarity, the world of Formula 1 remained silent. That is, until the grid’s sole dark-skinned driver, 6- time champion Lewis Hamilton, called out the sport on its lack of support and response. The sport acknowledged his call for action and now stands united in support.
It all began when Hamilton launched his passion project, the Hamilton Commission, to improve the diversity in motorsports. He has received extraordinary support. Many public figures—including Formula 1 CEO Chase Carey—have donated large sums of money.
Other drivers supported the BLM movement in different ways, like taking a knee before the season’s inaugural race or raising awareness on social media. Many can be seen sporting Black Lives Matter t-shirts before and after races. The Mercedes team (which Hamilton is on) changed their livery colour from silver to black.
Formula 1 is committed to driving the change for a better future. On 22nd June 2020, they launched the #WeRaceAsOne initiative to thank healthcare workers worldwide, promote a greener future, and of course, have better inclusion and diversity in the sport.
However, there is still a long way to go. As pointed out by Hamilton, Formula 1 does not represent the diverse, multicultural world we live in today. Just saying that one supports a cause is not enough, seeing the power and influence the sport has on its followers. Until Formula 1 provides more opportunities to minorities and changes its white-dominated state, words of solidarity will mean nothing.
Still, it is a start. The pinnacle of motorsport is finally on the road to equality, even if the goal is far. When Formula 1 takes the required steps, the sport will contribute to an equal, diverse society one day.