The British Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton has once again criticised the drivers who opted against taking the knee prior to the British Grand Prix and has told them to pay attention to other sportsmen and women.
Lewis Hamilton led an anti-racism demonstration on the starting grid at Silverstone on Sunday and most of his fellow drivers joined him in making the symbolic gesture. Of the 20 F1 drivers Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Kimi Raikkonen, Carlos Sainz, Kevin Magnussen, Daniil Kvyat and Antonio Giovinazzi opted against making taking a knee but still joined in the protest.
Hamilton praised F1 and the FIA for facilitating the demonstration and urged them to “follow through” with their pledges to drive change. Lewis Hamilton told ‘Race Fans . Net : “I’m not going to tell you what my opinion on whether or not everyone needs to or not. But if you look at all the other sports, look at basketball, you look at football and Spanish teams, Italian teams, teams all over the world, no matter what nationality or mixture they are, they’re all doing it united. You’ve got players from Russia; you’ve got players from Spain. When the reason for perhaps not doing it is how you think it will feel how would it be perceived in your country, all you have to do is look at the other sports because they are doing it. So, I do hope that bit by bit we can come more and more together and more united”.
Kevin Magnussen’s decision to stand during the demonstration at Silverstone came after he had previously taken a knee in previous races. Hamilton said “I don’t know why Magnussen hasn’t [taken a knee], I have not spoken to him. But bit by bit I think we’ll just try to improve each other’s understanding. The most important thing is the drivers continue to have respect for each other, I think, which we do. Maybe there just needs to be more conversation. I know that Formula 1 hasn’t spoken to any of the drivers and no one else perhaps probably has spoken to them individually”.
Current Affairs Correspondent | My name is Oliver Down I am 22, and a staunch brexiteer. I am a Bristolian lad who studied politics in Leicester. I believe in free speech and accurate journalism and I won’t be afraid to give you “the other side” of the story!
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