Red Bull condemn racist abuse of 'fierce rival' Lewis Hamilton

British Grand Prix

Red Bull condemn racist abuse of 'fierce rival' Hamilton

Hamilton has suffered online abuse since his lap one incident with Verstappen at Silverstone

Sam Hall

Monday 19 July 2021 10:55

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Red Bull has joined Formula 1, the FIA and Mercedes in condemning the online racist abuse targeted at Lewis Hamilton after his controversial British Grand Prix victory.

After the lap-one contact with Max Verstappen at Silverstone, Hamilton served a 10-second penalty but stormed through the order to secure his eighth win on home soil.

Online trolls, however, filled social media with racist comments and emojis directed at the seven-time champion.

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Following an earlier joint statement from Mercedes, the FIA and F1, Red Bull has also now called for those behind the posts to be "held accountable".

The statement read: "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 racist abuse Lewis endured yesterday on social media after the collision with Max.

"There is never any excuse for it, there is certainly no place for it in our sport and those responsible should be held accountable."

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— Red Bull Racing Honda (@redbullracing) July 19, 2021

Racism must be "driven out" of F1

Hamilton began his F1 career with McLaren and secured his first world title with the team in 2008.

Of the abuse overnight, his former team said: "McLaren stands with Formula 1, the FIA, and our fellow teams and drivers in condemning the deplorable racist abuse towards Lewis Hamilton.

"Racism must be driven out of our sport, and it’s our shared responsibility to unite and eliminate it."

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown added: "Totally unacceptable racist abuse of Lewis Hamilton. These people do not represent F1 fans or our sport. We must come together to get rid of this disgraceful abuse and racism."