Lewis Hamilton was born into a unwealthy family in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. He has a has cerebral palsy brother and his father have to do several jobs to support his ambition as a professional racing driver. Lewis Hamilton became the first and only black driver to race in the motorsport in 2014, as six-time Formula One World Champion, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport, and considered by some to be the greatest of all time, he passionately against racial injustice with a series of powerful statements on social media during the past month.
Hamilton has been backed by Mercedes and his sport for speaking out in recent weeks, and F1 will allow drivers to show their support for the BLM movement once the 2020 season starts on 5 July in Austria.
F1 and the FIA are also working on their own plans.
F1’s managing director Ross Brawn told Sky Sports earlier this month: “Lewis is a great ambassador for the sport and his comments are very valid. We support him completely.”
He said F1 was aware it needed to improve diversity across the sport and said creating greater opportunities at grassroots level – for young drivers, engineers and other potential roles – was at the heart of the required change.
The announcement comes amid global protests around the world in support of Black Lives Matter, a campaign which Hamilton – the first black superstar in F1 history – has vocally supported, following the killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest for allegedly using a counterfeit bill on May 25, 2020.
It’s for this reason that Hamilton said he wanted to start The Hamilton Commission, in partnership with the Royal Academy of Engineering.
The research partnership will be dedicated “to exploring how motorsport can be used as a vehicle to engage more young people from black backgrounds with Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects and, ultimately, employ them on our teams or in other engineering sectors,” said Hamilton.
“The time for platitudes and token gestures is over,” he concluded. “I hope that The Hamilton Commission enables real, tangible and measurable change. When I look back in 20 years, I want to see the sport that gave a shy, working-class black kid from Stevenage so much opportunity, become as diverse as the complex and multicultural world we live in.”
Lewis Hamilton was born into a unwealthy family in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. He has a has cerebral palsy brother and his father have to do several jobs to support his ambition as a professional racing driver. Lewis Hamilton became the first and only black driver to race in the motorsport in 2014, as six-time Formula One World Champion, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport, and considered by some to be the greatest of all time, he passionately against racial injustice with a series of powerful statements on social media during the past month.
Hamilton has been backed by Mercedes and his sport for speaking out in recent weeks, and F1 will allow drivers to show their support for the BLM movement once the 2020 season starts on 5 July in Austria.
F1 and the FIA are also working on their own plans.
F1’s managing director Ross Brawn told Sky Sports earlier this month: “Lewis is a great ambassador for the sport and his comments are very valid. We support him completely.”
He said F1 was aware it needed to improve diversity across the sport and said creating greater opportunities at grassroots level – for young drivers, engineers and other potential roles – was at the heart of the required change.
The announcement comes amid global protests around the world in support of Black Lives Matter, a campaign which Hamilton – the first black superstar in F1 history – has vocally supported, following the killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest for allegedly using a counterfeit bill on May 25, 2020.
It’s for this reason that Hamilton said he wanted to start The Hamilton Commission, in partnership with the Royal Academy of Engineering.
The research partnership will be dedicated “to exploring how motorsport can be used as a vehicle to engage more young people from black backgrounds with Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects and, ultimately, employ them on our teams or in other engineering sectors,” said Hamilton.
“The time for platitudes and token gestures is over,” he concluded. “I hope that The Hamilton Commission enables real, tangible and measurable change. When I look back in 20 years, I want to see the sport that gave a shy, working-class black kid from Stevenage so much opportunity, become as diverse as the complex and multicultural world we live in.”
The 35-year-old Hamilton posted #BlackLivesMatter to his 5.7 million Twitter followers following the death of Mr Floyd, with his post featuring a video of a young black American girl in tears about inherent racism in society.
He then went on to post an apparent criticism of F1 colleagues on his Instagram story, saying: “I see those of you who are staying silent, some of you the biggest of stars yet you stay silent in the midst of injustice.
“Winning championships is great, but I want to be remembered for my work creating a more equal society through education”, he added.
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