Lewis Hamilton opens up on why he had to speak out to tackle racism during last season’s F1 title race, as seven-time world champion admits he was ‘in tears’ after everything he had ‘supressed came up over all these years’
- Lewis Hamilton said he was emotional when fighting Black Lives Matter last year
- The British F1 champion wore BLM t-shirts and did Black Power salutes at meets
- Hamilton described his battle against racial injustice as ‘powerful and sad’
- The 36-year-old revealed he was ‘built’ for this fight and wants to help change
Lewis Hamilton reveals he felt ‘powerful and sad’ whilst trying to combat racism during last year’s Formula One Championship season.
The seven-time F1 champion has been leading the industry’s battle against racial injustice over the past 12 months and wore T-shirts supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and raised a fist for Black Power after winning last year’s Styrian Grand Prix.
Hamilton accused other Formula One drivers who refused to take the knee before Grand Prix races last season of being ‘complicit’ with racism for not taking a stand against the issue and admitted he got emotional when trying tackling the issues.
Lewis Hamilton revealed he got emotional whilst campaigning for Black Lives Matter last year
Hamilton wore Black Lives Matters t-shirts before Grand Prix races last year and took the knee
He told The Guardian: ‘This wrath of emotions came up and I couldn’t contain myself. I was in tears. And this stuff came up that I’d suppressed over all these years. And it was so powerful and sad and also releasing.
‘And I thought, ‘I can’t stay quiet. I need to speak out because there are people experiencing what I’m experiencing, or 10 times worse. Or 100 times worse. And they need me right now.’
‘And so when I did speak out, that was me letting the Black community know: “I hear you and I stand with you.”‘
The seven-time F1 champion also raised a fist for Black Power at last year’s Styrian Grand Prix
Hamilton’s work saw him named as Powerlist’s most influential black person for 2021 and revealed that he suffered sickening racial abuse as a young F1 driver growing up.
The 36-year-old’s work came after George Floyd’s death last year and coincided with the Black Lives Matter protests that took place across the world.
Hamilton claims he was ‘built for this’ fight against racial prejudice and vows to make matters better for other black youngsters across the world.
Hamilton claims he was ‘built’ for the battle against racial prejudice and vows to help change
He added: ‘I don’t see it as a burden. It was definitely liberating to be able to be open and speak about things. For people to know that there’s much more to me than perhaps they realised from watching me on TV.
‘I feel like I was built for this. There’s a reason it was suppressed over all that time. And if it happened any sooner I wouldn’t be ready, wouldn’t be strong enough to handle it. I wouldn’t be able to do my job as well and do both things at the same time.
‘But now I’m equipped with the tools to do so. I look at my niece and nephew. I look at my little cousins. And I think, “How can I make things better for you guys and your friends?”‘
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