General

'Hamilton plans to kneel at the Red Bull Ring'

16 June 2020 at 09:02
Last update 16 June 2020 at 12:09
  • GPblog.com

Lewis Hamilton has frequently spoken out in recent weeks about the protests following the death of the black American George Floyd. The fact that he supports the 'Black Lives Matter' movement with full conviction should therefore no longer be a secret.

So far, the six-time world champion has only made himself heard through social media, but it is said that this will change in a few weeks during the Austrian Grand Prix. According to the Daily Mail, he will kneel on the Red Bull Ring to show his support for the movement to the whole world.

Hamilton thus takes an example to many American athletes. Kneeling prior to sporting events was introduced several years ago by NFL player Colin Kaepernick.

Hamilton gets support from Formula 1

In America it is customary for this to happen during the American national anthem, which sounds standard before every match. Since it is very unlikely that the U.S. national anthem will also be heard in Spielberg, it remains to be seen which moment Hamilton will choose for his statement.

The Mercedes driver criticised Formula 1 that it is dominated too much by white people, but the sport will certainly not stand in his way if he wants to make this statement. "This is a very important issue and we support anyone who wants to show his support in the fight against racism", said a F1 spokesman to the same Daily Mail.