Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Circuit de Catalunya, 2020

“I know who you are and I see you”: Hamilton tells F1 stars not to ignore racial injustice

2020 F1 season

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Lewis Hamilton has challenged his fellow Formula 1 stars to speak out against racial injustice following the death of George Floyd, which has led to rioting in several American cities.

The six-times world champion has posted repeatedly on social media over the past few days about the latest death of a black man at the hands of a white police officer in the USA.

In a social media post today the six times world champion said he “stands alone” in the motorsport community in taking a stand on such matters.

“I see those of you who are staying silent, some of you the biggest of stars yet you stay silent in the midst of injustice,” wrote Hamilton.

“Not a sign from anybody in my industry which ofcourse [sic] is a white dominated sport. I’m one of the only people of colour there yet I stand alone.

“I would have thought by now you would see why this happens and say something about it but you can’t stand alongside us. Just know I know who you who you [sic] are and I see you…”

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Hamilton later added to his original statement: “I do not stand with those looting and burning buildings but those who are protesting peacefully,” he said.

“There can be no peace until our so called leaders make change. This is not just America, this is the UK, this is Spain, this is Italy and all over. The way minorities are treated has to change, how you educate those in your country of equality, racism, classisim and that we are all the same.

“We are not born with racism and hate in our hearts, it is taught by those we look up to.”

Hamilton has become increasingly vocal on the subject of racism in recent years. In 2017 he indicated his support for protesters in America’s National Football League who kneeled during pre-match performances of the national anthem in response to civil rights abuses against black people in America.

He highlighted the lack of diversity in the F1 paddock two years ago, and last year talked about how he feels the need to use social media to draw attention to social issues.

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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115 comments on ““I know who you are and I see you”: Hamilton tells F1 stars not to ignore racial injustice”

  1. Thank you Lewis for publicly speaking up.

    1. @bascb Interesting to see Latifi has now posted this.

      1. Indeed interesting! Good to see that others are now following Hamilton @keithcollantine. I also saw @hazelsouthwell posted about the subject (well and Will Buxton seemed to struggle with how to formulate his support).

        I hope we see more people in motorsports, especially the drivers, team members, even teams speaking out. This certainly concerns all of us in the world, even if many of us are not direct part of any minority group ourselves.

      2. Thanks Keith (@keithcollantine) for posting this article on the website, and to the other media people for keeping this issue in the public arena.

      3. Charles Leclerc has now also put his view online saying he felt uncomfortable and out of place commenting. But now realises that was wrong and we should all take responsibility.

    2. Speaking up against racism and injustice is commendable indeed.

      Not sure if calling out his colleagues is correct. They might never comment on such issues on social media (or don’t do social media at all). That doesn’t mean that they disagree or act in other ways.

      1. Lando & Latifi has.

      2. To be fair, lewis called them out at a safe social distance.

      3. @coldfly I think that’s a reasonable point. Were Lewis to ask his fellow drivers to speak out on the subject so that they could make a united statement, rather than calling them out for not speaking about it, he may get a less divided reaction. I get that this is an issue that is particularly close to his heart, but coalition-building is almost always more effective than publicly criticizing people who could be your allies.

      4. George Angus
        1st June 2020, 9:58

        He should speak out on tax avoidance too!

    3. Jack (@jackisthestig)
      1st June 2020, 3:09

      Thanks Lewis but no thanks! Why should anyone else in motorsport speak out if they don’t want to or simply couldn’t care less.

      With the recent news about Williams I re-watched the Williams documentary and Claire talks about Frank having absolutely no interest in anything outside the world of F1. That must be true of many people within the industry, they don’t comment on issues like this because they just don’t have an opinion on it.

      I don’t think the world would gain anything from reading a forced statement from Kimi Raikkonen regarding racial injustice.

      1. Fred Fedurch
        1st June 2020, 5:29

        ^—– This.

      2. Indeed. Also, racism is one of many societal problems. Would Lewis like to be called out by other drivers if he hasn’t spoken out against poverty, religious intolerance, oppression of women, domestic violence, gay bashing, etc etc?

        1. Except he HAS spoken out about these things in the past – Poverty and equality in particular. One of the stories that I will always remember (and did not get near enough mention at the time) was how after the inaugural Indian GP, when everyone else had made a quick exit back to Europe, Lewis was in the slums of rural India doing work for Save the Children. It was seeing those conditions that caused him to criticise the very notion of governments spending millions on F1 tracks for a very select few to enjoy, instead of more schools, homes and hospitals.

          And he is BY FAR the most vocal about environmental issues and sustainability – I haven’t seen any other F1 drivers literally picking trash up off the beach…

          Yes, he is very wealthy, yes he *could* make big public donations of that to get a lot of you off his back, but I suspect he puts in more money to good causes than all of us combined, without feeling the need to make a song and dance about it. Just Google “Lewis Hamilton philantropy” and there is a LOT of information about his work against bullying, racism, education for underprivileged youths, donations and sponsorship towards programs in Africa, Great Ormond Street Hospital, UNICEF etc.

          1. Of course when he does that the very same ignorant people calling him out for not speaking about it call it a PR stunt and deride him anyway.

      3. antony obrien
        1st June 2020, 8:59

        Yes I agree. Im not going to call my employer today and ask why they didn’t put a statement out about the same issue. They are US owned and err that’s it. Zero relevance.

        A mans death at the hands of anyone is despicable. At the hands, allegedly, of someone who is supposed to protect is beyond imagination but sadly not unique.

        If Lewis wants to say something with the platform F1 offers him, then that’s great but that’s it. It isn’t linked to F1 or him.

    4. I’m a big fan of Lewis’s driving, but he’s really not watching carefully enough here. The outcry against small elements of the police who are just plain brutal has been right across racial and political boundaries, from the President to BLM to the media. There’s literally nobody who thinks this was OK.

      If you believe it’s solely a race issue, then look up the death of Daniel Shaver at the hands of the police, but be warned it’s a horrible story, all captured on the offending officers bodycam. In many ways that’s the most shocking part, the officer responsible knew, as did those responsible for George Floyds death, that he was being filmed, but it made no difference. Never heard of Daniel Shaver? Possibly because he was white?

      Weed out the bad elements of the police, that’s the story here. In a wierd way it’s actually united people who would otherwise not march together and given them a common purpose.

      1. @frasier – It’s not really the time for “what about ….?” People of Color in the US are arrested more frequently for the same infractions or crimes than Anglos, convicted more frequently, given longer prison sentences, and killed more frequently by police. No one is saying that white people are never wronged by police or the system (especially poor people), but that’s not the point right now. And beyond that, if the system were fixed or bettered for PoC, it would be fixed for everyone.

        Also, at this point, I’m not sure how anyone can look at what has gone on and call it just “bad elements of the police.” It’s not just the officers killing people, beating people, arresting people instead of giving a warning, planting evidence, lying under oath, having memberships in racist online groups. It’s also those officers standing by while the attacks happen. It’s the officers not saying anything against their coworkers. And it’s the unions who won’t purge the hatred and bile from their ranks. I’m not a cop or in law enforcement in any way, but I am a member of a union in my line of work. And in our union, if a member isn’t cut out for our line of work, we let them know—and lives are not on the line in my job.

        1. Some really good points there Hobo, especially the one about getting it fixed for poc fixes it for everyone. Equally if you read my comments as whataboutism, then you’ve misunderstood or I’ve phrased it badly. The moment you single one ethnic group out for different treatment, you’re actually making it about a characteristic over which nobody has any control, thereby lies a competition to become the most abused sector. Much better to go for the root of the problem, police and public attitudes. Go for true colour blindness, MLK style.

          1. NeverElectric
            4th June 2020, 0:38

            MLK advocated colour-blindness and non-violence. They murdered him anyway.
            Symbolic protests result in symbolic victories.
            Lewis is right to call out the obvious racism in the US, and it really should be quite simple to see that he is right. As with everything, though, it is those with the most to lose that oppose change. When such a positive change as non-racialism is encouraged, those opposing the calls or casting aspersions at the proposed change tend to be those who are personally or otherwise invested in the status quo.
            Look in the mirror and stop discriminating on the basis of an accident of birth.

    5. Well said.

      As Elie Wiesel (who survived the Holocaust) famously said: “what hurts the victim most is not the cruelty of the oppressor but the silence of the bystander.”

      Racism is just like the fight against Coronavirus – it isn’t beaten anywhere until it’s beaten everywhere.

  2. I think is a good thing that he uses his public figure to speak out about current situations… But I don’t agree with the necessity of pointing out people (or fellow drivers in this case) who does not what to be involved in this matters.
    I don’t think sports figures are obligated to post a political position regarding any subject, only if they feel to do it.

    1. very much agree. there is much in the world you could speak publicly about. racism in 1 country, genocide in another where Lewis races each year….
      And what about the slavery happening in yet another few countries where Lewis raced in. and/or countries where women don’t have much freedom, and what about discrimination of gay people.

      Lewis is just very selective. Doesn’t matter. But please don’t confront other F1 drivers like you’re mother Theresa. Thanks

      1. On this issue, Hamilton gets to play the victim, build his brand and stand with the other celebs like Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish. It’s a win-win-win.

        And they can do it all over again on the next popular issue.

    2. He’s pathetic man, he reminds me of Derek Zoolander.

      I love him as a driver but he’s getting stranger and stranger with every passing year.

      He bores me something rotten and he can bugger of and sail around the world with Greta Thunberg.

      1. I call him Dame Lewis with all his bling-bling

        1. William Jones
          1st June 2020, 8:11

          Nothing like watching someone proving someone they despise correct.

    3. I’m sure many people in F1 community are very upset about what happened. There are lot’s of cruelty and injustice in the world, and I am not sure if drivers deserved to be pointed fingers at when they don’t do public announcements to condemn every single one of these cruelties. Most drivers are just athletes. Some drivers like Lewis have become much more and use their influence to creating impact for the good. All drivers trying to create influence in all matters would be much less insincere and definitely less effective.

      1. William Jones
        1st June 2020, 8:13

        Given he does nothing to point fingers at the other drivers, unless this article skipped that tweet, come again?

        1. “I see those of you who are staying silent, some of you the biggest of stars yet you stay silent in the midst of injustice,” wrote Hamilton.

          I think he’s pointing fingers at the entire grid here.

          All the statements that came out today starts with an explanation of why they haven’t done public announcements before to condemn racism. I thought it was sad that they felt the need to say that are not racists just because they haven’t wrote something on Twitter yet.

    4. Just imagine what he might have accomplished had he been more constructive in his remark, rather than this bullying of his peers. There is an array of misjustices around the globe, people should be allowed to decide what to comment on or not.

  3. I wouldnt mind at all if Lewis took a knee during the COTA podium celebration.

    What is going on in US, is just beyond regular racism.

    Lewis should speak out against it. Should everyone else? Yes.

    1. I like how he made the threat of kneeling, to get those precious social justice points.
      …then didnt do it.

      As an american, I wish he’d stay out of things he doesnt know about. Lewis hamilton has never been to South LA. His weekends in LA dont include visits to that part of town.

      1. GtisBetter (@)
        31st May 2020, 22:54

        You don’t know what he knows.

      2. pastaman (@)
        1st June 2020, 2:40

        Yeah, black people only have issues in south LA so he’s probably clueless

      3. antony obrien
        1st June 2020, 11:02

        Yes the yanks are so good at staying out of other countries business. Just laughable

  4. petebaldwin (@)
    31st May 2020, 21:24

    What have Mercedes said as a company about the situation? What has Toto said? How about Chase – he’s American after all. What has any of the companies who sponsor Lewis said? Its fine to call out people for not talking about this – how about calling out some who he does have to keep happy?

    It’s a good thing he’s vocal about this but I fully understand why the other drivers, many of whom have American sponsors involved, are keeping quiet.

    1. He has enough money to not care at this point on a subject he clearly cares about.

      What’re they gonna do? Fire him? He knows he’s untouchable as long as he keeps winning.

      1. petebaldwin (@)
        31st May 2020, 21:41

        I agree – that’s why it’s confusing that he’s not calling his bosses out and is instead, criticizing drivers who are very much not “untouchable.”

        1. He didn’t just call out other drivers. These are his words:

          “Not a sign from anybody in my industry which ofcourse [sic] is a white dominated sport. I’m one of the only people of colour there yet I stand alone.

          1. Keith Hennessy
            1st June 2020, 4:03

            The mostly white people that work in the garage and helped him win 6 world titles ?

        2. Putting aside the fact he has called them out on this, I think he proved in Australia he has no problem calling out the industry no matter what the consequences. And in Australia he was pretty much a loan voice as well.

  5. Good for him speaking out, however I’m not sure Lewis has a right to say how the other people in the industry should behave. There are terrible events going on all around the world, not just in the US, should every driver say something about these also?

    1. William Jones
      1st June 2020, 8:18

      He has a right to say what he wants surely? I thought freedom of speech was a pillar of human rights and one particularly championed by white america – it certainly is when it benefits them. If he wants to call out others for not being as vocal as him, that’s his right, and he also accepts the consequences of what other people think about him as a result of his words, as well as how he changes perceptions of others by using his words.

      1. antony obrien
        1st June 2020, 11:04

        That freedom also extends to people saying they think he is wrong surely?

  6. There are only 3 not European drivers in F1, Perez, Stroll and Ricciardo… that in itself is already remarkable.
    Lewis is colored, but are Perez and Albon not…? Scientifically, humans are a race, but there’s no genetic difference between Albon, Hamilton or Raikkonen, in fact the word ‘race’ is a word banned in science, it’s a made up word to discriminate originated when slavery started.

    It is a strange world… especially since only 10% of the world population is ‘white’..

    1. Latifi is also Canadian

    2. William Jones
      1st June 2020, 8:21

      You’re not wrong, broadly, but no-one “banned” the word ‘race’, there is no grand priest of science who dictated language that can be used. It’s just that scientists in the relevant areas understand their subject well enough to know that it’s a nonsense term even if they don’t know the history, so they use correct terms based only on their knowledge – they self ban because they are not ignorant.

    3. Not all european countries went to Africa to make slaves 17th century the Dutch only trade in Slaves after 1637 they never made slaves (that did the african tribes themself in the west part of Africa) before that date slavery was forbidden all slaves captured were released..

  7. It’s a serious issue, and it has been for so long. But saying other people should say the same like him is a bit much.

    First of all, not one of the drivers is from the USA. The driver that went most to the USA is Lewis, so the issues hit closer home to him. It would be nice for other drivers to support it. You can’t force the freedom of speech on another person. Some people want to keep their thoughts to themselves. For example, Vettel who has no social media.

    Second of all, It’s a bit hypocritical that he says this while he is driving in countries such as Bahrain and China where way worse things happen on a daily basis. This is a big issue, but there are bigger issues that he doesn’t speak about.
    It’s a bit selective to support a case about the killing of 1 man (and many more before George Floyd), versus ignoring concentration camps full of muslims, in a country he races in.

    I love his post about BLM and George Floyd, but it isn’t just for calling other people for not doing the same like him, who have even less to do with the issue than him.

    1. William Jones
      1st June 2020, 8:25

      Devils advocate here, and I don’t say this with anything but respect for your point, but isn’t speaking out against racism, also speaking out against those acts in other countries which are 99% race issues – I don’t know the specific case you are referring to with concentration camps full of muslims, but I’ll go out on a limb here and guess that the muslims are of a different race to the rulers in that country? That muslims of the same race are not in those concentration camps?

      1. I was reffering to the muslims in China, it’s been a known issue that something is happening there and it has been confirmed they are being locked up against their will. It isn’t really a race issue, it’s a religion issue. China doesn’t want any religion and so they wanna bring ‘culture’ to the muslims. Same as Bahrain where there were issues in 2011, where the rich get richer and the poor just get their mouths closed and mistreated. But this also shows what wrong with F1 in general, even planning to go racing in Saudi-Arabia.

        Yes, it is an issue, but calling people out for not doing anything, while a million of people in concetration camp are probably hoping anybody even cares about them, and he races in those countries is a bit hypocritical in my opinion.

        Personally I haven’t posted anything on social media about this issue, why not, because I’m not a social media person and while I support the movement, nothing like this has ever happened in my country. Yes there is always racism, even in very small amounts, but police brutality and a corrupt system doesn’t happen here. Same for a large part of Europe, except for some cases in the UK and possibly in southern

        1. @Armand Serpentier…in ref to your comment, ‘it’s a religion issue’. No, that’s not correct, Islam is not a religion, it’s an ideology, a political movement that does not separate church and state. Muslims exist under sharia law and that form of law is in direct conflict with, for example, Westminster Law. In particular the Chinese will not remotely entertain any form of competition and brutally clamp down on anything that competes with their own system of Law. I refer in context to the fate of in excess of one million Uighurs whose fate has not been expressly championed in any of the F1 opinion columns, and rightly so.

      2. OK, how about speaking up about LGBT issues in Abu Dhabi? It’s criminalized there and is punishable by jail time of up to 14 years (and all the way up to execution in other emirates that AB is a part of). But I guess it’s not a race issue, so no one should call out anyone for not speaking up about it, right? What about imprisonment of human right activists and journalists in Russia, that seems to gain more and more steam with each passing year of Putin’s ‘presidency’ – some of them end up dead or mangled while in prison. It’s not about race, though, so there.

        I’m not saying you should not keep quite about issues that are deeply important to you, on the contrary! But commenters here are right – calling out others in the industry to support YOUR issue, while you yourself is so selective as to not notice other issues that are also causing death, pain and suffering is a bit hypocritical.

  8. I support Hamilton’s views, but at the same time I find it difficult to understand why he spends so much time in America. No matter how many F1 championships he might win, how much money he has, how much he has donated to charity or even how many songs he sells, he will never be accepted as an equal by the majority of white Americans. All the time he’s in America, he is one traffic offence from meeting the kind of police I keep on hearing about.

  9. Because they are athletes Lewis, not politicians. The word of an athlete is worth just as much as anyone’s. How about we let everyone decide for themselfs if they want to get involved. What we really don’t want is some puppets that hold a ‘no to racism’ banner and be done with it. You have to have respect for people who simply do not want to get involved into politics, not everyone has racial injustice in the US 24/7 on their mind.

  10. We await your condemnation of Lee Rigby’s killer.
    No, thought not, you’re far more at ease playing the R card aren’t you Lewis

    1. How do you know he didn’t?

      1. Because he didn’t. Ben makes a very good point and does point out the hypocrisy.

        1. Here, Here, Lewis = Hypocrite. It is useful to have the R card in your hand, an easy to play use advantage.
          Why do we not simply condemn violence period. Why does it matter if it’s Women, Men, Black, White?. lets move on from the past and condemn all violence.

  11. Hamilton added more to his original statement, the article has been updated to reflect this.

    1. ColdFly (@)
      1st June 2020, 8:26

      You should have changed the first paragraph as well, @keithcollantine.

      the death of George Floyd, which has led to rioting in several American cities.

      This is talking a shortcut which is unfortunate IMO.
      It’s rather would have seen something like: “ the death of George Floyd, which has led to major protest in several American cities. Some people have also used these events to start riots.

  12. I believe the facts are being overlooked or not clearly reported. Yes, this is a tragedy, a man died, he is/was loved by family and friends and I feel deeply for them as I do when people of any colour die of any cause. But I seriously ask, was this a racist incident? I.E. it happened due to race differences… I seriously doubt it.
    Is the pending justice sufficient (That depends if it was intentional or not).
    Do we see these riots when something bad happens to a white man, no, it rarely even gets reported…

    Stop keeping racism alive Lewis. Time for you and so many others to start seeing people as people and looking past colour, You are in a position to practice equality, after all you are equally both.
    People could argue that you have been given the advantage due to your mixed race, in order for F1 to show they are not racist, Are you treated differently in the F1 paddock? So why point fingers at others. come on, you are a smarter than this.

    1. @ MCG…an excellent comment. I fully support your view.

  13. Pointing the finger is kind of ugly. I’m pretty sure other drivers don’t condone that incident. There are many other ugly things happening in the world. Judging by the protests, people are irate and they are not all of colour, far from it. Everyone is protesting, why are celebs more important and to be fair Ham is not of colour either, bu that is a whole other complicated matter.

    1. William Jones
      1st June 2020, 7:57

      “and to be fair Ham is not of colour either”

      What? I get it, he’s mixed race, but he most certainly non-caucasian – the only “race” without “colour”

      1. Isn’t white a colour? What an odd comment.

        1. No. White is a shade. Brown is a colour.

          1. Ditto for Black

      2. There is no race on this planet that is “White” and no race that is “Black”, these are just terms used to discriminate. We are all in fact shades of beige/brown (Basically the same colour). If you are white or black you should definitely go see your Doctor!

  14. He has been charged with Murder, what more do you want right now?

  15. There’s no question that what happened to Mr. Floyd is beyond a disgrace. But the facts are, more blacks kill blacks than whites kill blacks. He might want to address that problem in the future.

    1. pastaman (@)
      1st June 2020, 2:49

      No, I think police who are sworn to protect the people but murder them instead is the more pressing issue here. More whites kill whites than blacks kill whites, so what? It’s a meaningless statistic.

      1. Exactly, Nothing ot do with race. Everything to do with acring for one another.

      2. @Pastaman….Here’s a statistic that does mean something. All US police forces are made up of mixed race personnel. Statistics compiled by ‘STATISTA’ a German authority in the summaries of various statistical exercises covering the ‘people shot and killed by US police forces for the years ’17/’18/’19 are as follows,
        Whites ’17 457
        ’18 399
        ’19 370
        1226 total

        Blacks ’17 223
        ’18 209
        ’19 235
        667 total
        Hispanics ’17 179
        ’18 148
        ’19 158
        485 total.

        These figures tell you that if you are white you are almost twice as likely to be shot and killed by the police in the USA than you are if you are black.

        1. You are conveniently ignoring that fact that there are about 80% whites in the USA population. So if there are 2 times the amount of whites (80% of population) vs Black (about 12% of population), this means that actually the numbers you present show that as a black person you are actually over 15 times as likely to be killed by police than as a white person.

          1. @Ef1….within the realms of physics white is not considered a colour and neither is black. All colours have visible wavelengths. White and black are excluded as they have no visible wavelengths. To be clinically correct no one can claim to be black and a ‘person of colour’ at the same time. However that position would be untenable on the street!!!

          2. @ BasCB…wrong. That is a spurious argument. To have any cred it would mean that all mixed race police officers work to a quota system. What is says is that a minority is responsible for a disproportionate level of crime.

    2. @jt1234

      But the facts are, more blacks kill blacks than whites kill blacks

      Below is the first paragraph of the USA law enforcement code of ethics :

      AS A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER, my fundamental duty is to serve mankind; to safeguard lives and property; to protect the innocent against deception, the weak against oppression or intimidation, and the peaceful against violence or disorder; and to respect the Constitutional rights of all men to liberty, equality and justice.

      The thing is police officers are given special power to use guns and being paid using tax payers money to protect people as long as possible. That includes protecting blacks, whites, immigrants, minorities… Those who kills regardless of their race, origin… are not given special power nor paid from tax payers money to protect people. They are criminals and considered accountable in front of the law.

      Whataboutery at its finest, btw your argument is very popular within the kkk community.

    3. He has! Many times!
      There is a big movement called “Black Lives matter” which covers this subject and Lewis has shown his support for this cause many times.

  16. If Lewis wants to speak out about issues he cares about that’s fine, but I don’t think others should feel pressured into saying something. I don’t know why we feel the need for celebrities to speak about politics or social issues they aren’t always well versed on. If someone says something that’s construed the wrong way or not very nuanced it would be easy fodder for the Twitter mob to pounce on.

    1. Just imagine what he might have accomplished had he been more constructive in his remark, rather than this bullying of his peers. There is an array of misjustices around the globe, people should be allowed to decide what to comment on or not.

  17. I don’t have a problem with Lewis doing this.

    However, I’d be far happier if he, and others were more vocal about the subject all year round and not after yet another terrible and public example like we’ve seen.

    Perhaps if more had supported Kaepernick, particularly when powerful people were lambasting him and his colleagues for being disrespectful, we might see more real progress rather than this seemingly continuing “reactivness” to things that shouldn’t be happening and probably should have been addressed years ago.

    If I recall, Lewis was supportive of him and was one of the few. Hopefully more from F1 and all forms of motor sport will help raise awareness that things need to be addressed and change needs to happen.

  18. “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” and in this case say nothing because its not in my interest to comment.

  19. Lewis – when coloured American GIs came to England during WW2, they were astonished to find that there were no segregated facilities; they could sit where they liked on buses, trains, in pubs and theatres etc.

    In parts of the the US racial intermarriage and relationships were illegal – under so-called anti-miscegenation laws. 17 Southern states (all the former slave states plus Oklahoma) enforced laws prohibiting marriage between whites and non-whites. After a ruling of the Supreme Court in 1967, the laws were no longer enforceable. Nonetheless, it took Mississippi until 1987, South Carolina until 1998 and Alabama until 2000 to amend their states’ constitutions to remove language prohibiting miscegenation. In the respective referendums, 52% of voters in Mississippi, 62% of voters in South Carolina and 59% of voters in Alabama voted to make the amendments. In Alabama nearly 526,000 people voted against the amendment, including a majority of voters in some rural counties.

    As recently as In 2009, Keith Bardwell, a justice of the peace in Robert, Louisiana, refused to officiate a civil wedding for an interracial couple.

    And you choose to live in the US instead of the UK.

    1. antony obrien
      1st June 2020, 11:10

      He lives in Monaco

      I don’t even begin to understand what you are going on about in the rest of your post

      1. Hamilton owns a flat in New York, and an estate in Colorado anbd spends a great deal of time in the US – how many properties in Monaco?

        If you can’t understand the rest of my post I can only hope that you get back into school very soon and catch up on your English comprehension. Let me make it simple: The US is a deeply racist country and Hamilton spends far more time there than in the tolerant UK. Voted with his feet. But virtue signals with his keyboard. Understand?

    2. I believe all people have the right to choose who they like or dislike for whatever reason they find personally appropriate.
      What the don’t and simply can’t have is the right to discriminate. All “Law abiding” people are equal – respect for all good people.

  20. Some of the comments here are insane. OK, if you don’t feel that Hamilton should call out other drivers then fine, but do not criticise him for calling out racism, everybody should call it out. When I lived in rural Shropshire I was surrounded by stupid comments and I stood up to it despite being white myself because it is correct.
    I will agree that any death by police should be called out but the death of this man was on camera, who was pleading that he couldn’t breath and bystanders were telling the policeman that his nose was bleeding. For several minutes the man had someone on his neck, how long does it take to put someone in cuffs. The reason the world is protesting about this is that it is yet another case of disproportionate force on a black person in the states, yes it happens to white people too but it is disproportionately towards the black community. Their president then sends out tweets about using dogs (an image that brings back the memory of what police did against civil rights marchers), he doesn’t try to bring calm, he just inflames divisions.
    The US has a poor history of integration, just by continuing to use the word “African-American”, it implys that a black American is from somewhere else rather being American. Is Trump “Scottish-American” would my Children be Franco-american if they were born there. No they would be American because they’re White. Everybody should stand up to Racism, everywhere.

    1. @Broke84…I don’t think any sane person would/ or could condone this despicable crime. It was cruel and inhumane and the perpetrator should and will feel the full force of the laws of the land. What i am against is the use of this incident as a means of prosecuting an entirely different proposition that condones the destruction of our society for reasons other than the case in hand. The far left [ Antifa et al ] have hijacked what was a peaceful demonstration by those who were fully justified in making their case publically. I am also against those who seek to selfishly advance their public standing by jumping on the bandwagon when it suits them, or their publicity agents. Racism, as term in the current vernacular, is deeply entrenched in very many societies. Tribalism in Africa, where i have spent a good deal of time, is based on racism. I was once asked, impolitely, to leave a bar in Rio De Janeiro where me and my American resident friend were having a quiet ‘Cuba Libre’ because i was white and was not welcome!! So what, it was the owners bar and his to call. I was not offended.

      1. I disagree. The owner of the bar had no right to ask you to leave because you are white. Racism in all forms is bad. The far left and right elements of the riots can and should be condoned but the anger of the protesters is relevant. One of my best friends is a black American and when you here first hand what goes on it is truely awful. And another example. I’m English, I live in France with my French wife. My brother in law (her brother) has a French wife. But people don’t stare at me with suspicion being English, they stare at her for being black. It is utterly wrong. Your acceptance of the bar landlord normalises racism which is also wrong.

        1. @ Broke84…thank you for your response. You are quite wrong really but that is your opinion and i’m fine with that.. The particular incident i referred to was between me and the bar owner and if he didn’t like my colour then that was fine…what are you suggesting? Are you saying that i should’ve wrecked his bar with a couple of molotov cocktails [that i mixed myself] then organised the destruction of his cars and other property after looting what was not fixed to the floor …all over a couple of drinks ? Please, give me a break. You should really study other societies and then you’ll understand that some of the greatest cultures throughout history have ’embedded tribalism’ as a foundation. That said it’s time to go racing…..

          1. You are entitled to your opinion but you have shown you are part of the problem. I don’t need you to tell me to study other cultures thank you, you do not know me or my life. If you read my comment you can see that I have spoken against burning, looting etc, but the protests are understandable. Tribalism in Africa is not the same as widespread racism in the States, A country which tries to make out that it is the model of freedom and democracy. I’ll form my own opinion based on what I see and experience and on the opinion of my actual black friends in America thank you very much.

      2. How sad. You’ve been asked once to leave a bar because of your colour. Try accepting that attitude when it happens every day to black people in America.

        You’ve written more in the last 12 hours to promote your twisted views than Lewis Hamilton has spoken about racism in years.

        1. @Jon Bee……twisted views? That’s a bit rich coming from you.

  21. The ‘funniest’ bit reading some of the comments is how some people think Hamilton needs their permission to say what he thinks.

    1. And all of them are going to more and more stupid and racist when they look around a see Lewis Hamilton is being supported by other people in F1.

    2. Lewis, indeed, does not need our permission to express his thoughts. I join him in rejecting racism in whatever shape or form, although I would’ve rather seen him take a more constructive approach towards his fellow racers. I am utterly appalled though by some of the garbage being expressed by others in this forum – even going as far as trying to ‘statistically’ validate their nonsense. This is not a political forum and I do not wish to be confronted by idiotic political views. I come here because I appreciate the well-considered, knowledgeable comments on F1 and racing by a number of the regular contributors (people like ColdFly, Anon and David BR to name but a few). Yes, we can discuss whether Lewis Hamilton was right to call out his colleagues, but this is not the platform for discussing politics in general.

  22. Crying all the way to bank, and then crying every flight to the US in his private jet.

    Lewis is an opportunist in the category do as I say, but not as I do. Leading by example would a good thing for the preacher, otherwise it’s his vegan activism while his dogs jet across the world in private jets all over again.

  23. Oooooh Lewis is watching. Que lots of virtual signalling. Everyone knows what’s happened is aborhant and if I ever saw someone being racially abused I would call the police.

  24. Check your math. Using your figures (twice more whites killed, 80% of the population White, 12% black) it comes out that if you are black you have 3.33 more probabilities of being killed if you are black not 15+.

    1. No idea what the figures would be, but, to have any merit it should be calculated against the number of people committing crimes of a specific nature, not against the entire population as they do not all fall into the criminal element and therefore don’t qualify for the statistic.

    2. misplaced, was @bascb

  25. I have an opinion
    2nd June 2020, 1:50

    Don’t ignore racial injustice perpetrated by a law enforcement officer in a city that has nothing to do with Formula One. But do ignore all forms of injustice (including racial) perpetrated by states that host Formula One events.

    Was the 1985 South African Grand Prix the last time a driver conscientiously boycotted a race? And even then, Alan Jones’ decision wasn’t publicised; he informed a few key personnel and simply didn’t show up.

    1. Lewis will not boycott, He is only interested in stirring the pot, not actually taking any action himself, too many records and $’s at stake for him. Hypocrite and only interested in specific agendas that suit him, not the worlds atrocities.

      1. Fully agree, he really is the epitome of a hypocrite. I love him as a driver but his personality becomes more alien to me with each passing year. He needs calling out on his racism himself because he loves to stir the pot and cause more divide and hate.

  26. @ MCG….I agree with your comments. The fact that all this argy bargy emanating from Hamilton et al is carefully choreographed and the psychophants flock to it like bees to a honey pot.

  27. If I were to start a movement with slogan #WhiteLivesCount i would be called racist. This is the problem, in order to end racism we need to stop recognising race in any context. Things like #BlackLivesCount, this is racist as it implies that any other colour lives don’t count. New slogan please – #AllLivesCount, let’s stand together as one race (which we actually are)

    1. @ MCG…my thoughts exactly.Whilst my Justine Damond comments have been disappeared, i recall with disgust at the way in which this innocent women, dressed in her pyjamas and acting only as a good citizen in reaction to a perceived crime by someone else, was shot in cold blood by a ‘ colored police officer’. My first and only reaction was the crime, the pointless murder, and the ethnicity of the police officer never entered my thoughts. It still doesn’t. That said however, in the greater context as applied to this latest Floyd atrocity, by comparison, maybe it should be? Is it two sides of the same coin? I don’t know….

      1. That’s how it should be, we should be thinking only of the unnecessary killing of a human being and addressing that, nothing else.

  28. I would like to ask the racists out there this.
    Do you only hate people with different colour skin to you, or do you logically extend your hatred to people with different colour hair or eyes to you?
    Racism is Absurdly stupid.

    1. I don’t know, ask Lewis Hamilton…..

      1. You seem to be forgetting what happened in Spain testing 2008, when the people in the seats had blackface with Hamilton written on their shirts. His statement is justified.

        1. @Ethiopia – Not sure how your response is in any way relevant to my comment?

  29. I believe if in 2008 if drivers had spoken up during the Spain 2008 testing Hamilton wouldn’t be making this statement. 2008 testing is why he’s making this statement

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