F1 probes Lews Hamilton’s Black Lives Matter protest amid controversy
Lewis Hamilton has attracted criticism over a Black Lives Matter T-shirt protest that targeted police officers.
Mercedes have defended Lewis Hamilton’s right to wear the slogan-bearing T-shirt in which he stood on the podium at the Tuscan Grand Prix on Sunday, insisting that the aim of the driver’s message is to highlight human-rights issues rather than make a political statement.
The FIA, motorsport’s governing body, is looking into whether the world champion broke any rules by wearing a T-shirt at Mugello that called for the arrest of the police officers who killed Breonna Taylor, a black woman who was shot eight times in her own home in Kentucky in March.
During a protest before the race and on the top step of the podium after his victory, Hamilton, 35, wore a T-shirt that said, on the front: “Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor.”
On the back, alongside a photograph of Taylor, were the words: “Say her name.”
Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team principal, has previously indicated that the team will back Hamilton’s vocal support for the Black Lives Matter movement and, in response to a social media message suggesting he should keep politics out of sport, Mercedes responded: “We’re not bringing politics into F1, these are human-rights issues that we are trying to highlight and raise awareness of. There’s a big difference.”
The FIA said on Monday that Hamilton’s latest stance was “under active consideration” to determine whether any rules may have been infringed.
✊ pic.twitter.com/OXXW8OIy9C
— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) September 13, 2020
Earlier this season, Lando Norris opted not to wear a helmet featuring the Flemish flag for the Belgian Grand Prix, to commemorate his family’s links with Belgium.
McLaren team officials realised the symbol is used by a nationalist movement in Flanders, running the risk of his helmet being construed as a political statement.
The FIA has also rejected calls from Hamilton and other drivers to review its rules for safety-car restarts after a pile-up ruled four cars out of Sunday’s race.
Michael Masi, the race director, instead blamed the drivers for failing to heed warnings.
The Times
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