Racial abuse in Motorsport is not ok. Not in any form, any manner, or any type of insinuation which speaks of bias judgement of a person based on discrimination. Such forms of racial abuse has been received by Lewis Hamilton, Formula One British Grand Prix winner at Silverstone last weekend.
The racial slurs on social media hit all time high condemning Hamilton’s victory over F1 points leader Max Verstappen. Abusive comments and racist images posted online alienated Hamilton’s performance on the track provoking direct response from Formula One governing body, FIA, along with Mercedes, and F1 Teams.
Joint statement on Monday morning reads: ‘Hamilton has been subjected to multiple instances of racist abuse on social media both during and after Sunday’s race. There is never any excuse for it, there certainly is no place for it in our sport and those responsible should be held accountable’.
Such response by Formula One, FIA and Mercedes have equal support by Teams who unite to combat and eradicate online racial abuse towards Lewis Hamilton. Red Bull statement says: ‘While we may be fierce rivals on track, we are all united against racism. 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 racial abuse Lewis endured yesterday on social media after the collision with Max’.
The fervent reaction from Formula One, FIA, Mercedes and Teams sends strong message that Formula racing acts within regulations on performance on track. Directives ensure decisions are made when race incidents occur, whereby F1 stewards judge incidents within principles of race conduct not inclusive of consequences which happen on track. As stated by FIA Race Director Michael Masi:
‘The stewards judge the incident itself, the merits of the incident and not what happens after as a consequence, and that’s been something the stewards have done for many years and has been advised to do from the top down’.
The jurisdiction of Formula One and FIA govern the regulations of racing with all accountability to ensure procedures are adhered to when race incidents occur. Of consequence, decisions made are within scope of Formula racing criteria, and at no time take into consideration racial bias, discrimination or unjust tolerance based on race or Nationality.
The result of social media postings belittling drivers, as targeted towards Lewis Hamilton’s victory at the weekend, has called for action to end racism which ultimately affects the essence of Formula racing. Such deliverance of response, sets precedent that online racial abuse will not be tolerated nor inclusive in F1 racing now and for the future.
Words: Sharon Cox.
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