Sports Evolve
Lewis Hamilton was the target of racist internet abuse following his spectacular British Grand Prix victory on Sunday.
This was after a controversial moment in the race where Lewis and his fierce rival Max Verstappen collided. The resulting collision led to Max spinning out of control, ending in the barrier and thus retiring from the race.
Formula 1, the FIA, and Mercedes have all denounce the abuse and demand that those responsible be held accountable; The seven-time Formula One world champion is a prominent figure in the anti-racism movement.
Racist slurs and “monkey emojis ” were directed to his team’s account while celebrating the win on social media. The action prompted a reaction from Facebook who took down most of the comments and accounts.
Hamilton, who received a 10 seconds penalty for the crash, drove brilliantly to recover the time. He overtook Leclerc who had been racing leader for the whole race in the last laps of the race to claim his eighth Grand Prix win at Silverstone Infront of 140,000 home spectators.
Formula 1, the FIA, and Mercedes released a joint statement condemning the abuse and called for action to be taken against those responsible.
It read: “During, and after, yesterday’s British Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton was subjected to multiple instances of racist abuse on social media following an in-race collision.
“Formula 1, The FIA and Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team condemn this behavior in the strongest possible terms.
“These people have no place in our sport and we urge that those responsible should be held accountable for their actions.
“Formula 1, the FIA, the drivers, and the teams are working to build a more diverse and inclusive sport, and such unacceptable instances of online abuse must be highlighted and eliminated.”
Red bull and McLaren Hamilton’s former teams also released a statement condemning the abuse he received. Red Bull’s statement read:
“We condemn racist abuse of any kind towards our team, our competitors, and our fans. As a team, we are disgusted and saddened to witness the racist abuse Lewis endured yesterday on social media after the collision with Max.
“There is never any excuse for it, there is certainly no place for it in our sport and those responsible should be held accountable.”
A McLaren statement read: “McLaren stands with Formula 1, the FIA, and our fellow teams and drivers in condemning the deplorable racist abuse towards Lewis Hamilton.
“Racism must be driven out of our sport, and it’s our shared responsibility to unite and eliminate it.”
This incident comes just days after Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford, and Bukayo Saka were subjected to similar abuse over the 2020 euro final in which they missed their penalties.
