Lewis Hamilton subjected to vile racist abuse - F1, FIA, Mercedes respond

Hamilton at Silverstone — Photo: © LAT Images

British Grand Prix

Hamilton subjected to vile racist abuse - F1, FIA, Mercedes respond

Hamilton won the Silverstone race after a lap one collision with Verstappen

Sam Hall

Monday 19 July 2021 09:12 Updated: 10:13

Formula 1, the FIA and Mercedes have issued a statement condemning "in the strongest possible terms" the vile, racist abuse aimed at Lewis Hamilton after Sunday's British Grand Prix.

On lap one at Silverstone, Hamilton tagged the right-rear of Max Verstappen's Red Bull at Copse which resulted in a 51g crash for the Dutchman.

Hamilton was handed a 10-second penalty by the race stewards which was served at his pit stop before the Briton battled back to take the victory with a similar move on Charles Leclerc in the closing stages of the race.

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After the event, Hamilton was targeted by online trolls using his colour to abuse the 36-year-old for his part in the incident.

The joint statement issued on Monday morning reads: "During, and after, yesterday’s British Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton was subjected to multiple instances of racist abuse on social media following an in-race collision. Formula 1, The FIA and Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team condemn this behaviour in the strongest possible terms.

"These people have no place in our sport and we urge that those responsible should be held accountable for their actions. Formula 1, the FIA, the drivers and the teams are working to build a more diverse and inclusive sport, and such unacceptable instances of online abuse must be highlighted and eliminated."

This incident of racist behaviour is sadly just another at the start of a summer of sport, after England players Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho were targetted following the Euro 2020 final in which all three had failed to score in a penalty shootout.

Of this previous occurrence, Hamilton said: "The pressure to deliver is felt by every sportsperson but when you are a minority representing your country this is a layered experience. Success would feel like a double victory, but a miss feels like a two-fold failure when its compounded with racist abuse.

"I so badly wanted that win like all of you but for me it was for much more than winning the euros, it was a much bigger picture. However, the disgusting behaviour by the few, shows how much work that still needs to be done. I hope that this opens a conversation around acceptance.

"We must work towards a society that doesn’t require Black players to prove their value or place in society only through victory."