Photo: Instagram / Lewis Hamilton
A couple of weeks ago, Lewis Hamilton got himself into hot waters with FIA bosses for wearing a Breonna Taylor T-shirt before and after an F1 race.
A formal investigation into the incident was considered at some point, since the FIA is non-political and this was deemed a “political” statement that had no place there. Eventually, officials decided against the investigation but they did say a new set of rules and regulations would be introduced, so as to prevent drivers from getting too “political” at events.
Speaking on the topic at a press conference this week, Hamilton said he personally had “no regrets” about wearing the T-shirt and that he would comply with what is being asked of him.
There is a sense, though, that he feels the decision unjust. He calls the Breonna Taylor case and BLM in general a “human rights issue” and says that, while he understands that officials have to please everyone, fans of the sports need to be made aware of such issues. Pushing for equality should never be considered political.
“We push towards road safety, you could say that's almost human right's also,” Hamilton said, as cited by Sky News. “Lots of rules have been written for me over the years, that hasn't stopped me. But what I will do is try to work with Formula 1 and the FIA to make sure the messaging is right. Could it be better? Of course, it could always be better, but that's part of the learning curve.”
Hamilton spoke highly of his fans, who have been flooding him with messages of support, and said that he’d always followed his heart – and this is what he’s been doing with his BLM activism.
“I also did something that's never really happened in Formula 1,” Hamilton added, “and obviously they'll stop it from happening moving forwards, but people do talk about sport not being a place for politics and ultimately it's human rights issues and, in my opinion, that is something we should be pushing towards.”
Speaking on the topic at a press conference this week, Hamilton said he personally had “no regrets” about wearing the T-shirt and that he would comply with what is being asked of him.
There is a sense, though, that he feels the decision unjust. He calls the Breonna Taylor case and BLM in general a “human rights issue” and says that, while he understands that officials have to please everyone, fans of the sports need to be made aware of such issues. Pushing for equality should never be considered political.
“We push towards road safety, you could say that's almost human right's also,” Hamilton said, as cited by Sky News. “Lots of rules have been written for me over the years, that hasn't stopped me. But what I will do is try to work with Formula 1 and the FIA to make sure the messaging is right. Could it be better? Of course, it could always be better, but that's part of the learning curve.”
Hamilton spoke highly of his fans, who have been flooding him with messages of support, and said that he’d always followed his heart – and this is what he’s been doing with his BLM activism.
“I also did something that's never really happened in Formula 1,” Hamilton added, “and obviously they'll stop it from happening moving forwards, but people do talk about sport not being a place for politics and ultimately it's human rights issues and, in my opinion, that is something we should be pushing towards.”
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