Lewis Hamilton has applauded his Mercedes team for joining him in taking the knee ahead of the weekend’s Formula One race, but he said other teams – including Ferrari – must do more to combat racism.
The 35-year-old dominated the first ever Styrian Grand Prix, controlling the race from start to finish.
He then celebrated after the race on the podium by raising fist in support of ending racism.
Hamilton reflected on a “beautiful” moment before his Styrian Grand Prix victory in Austria when Mercedes joined him in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
We stand together ✊🏾 the team today took the knee which was just amazing to see that together we can learn and be open minded of what’s going on in the world. Thank you to everyone in my team and to you #TeamLH, I appreciate all of your support and your positive messages 🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/zfKGdjDjce
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) July 12, 2020
He told Sky Sports F1: “It’s not something I asked for them to do, but it’s a beautiful thing. It doesn’t take a lot to do something like that, and it’s not changing the world, but perhaps shifting perceptions and shifting ideals. We’ll just keep going.”
The six-time champion improved on fourth place on the same track a week earlier, with this crushing win from pole position by 13.7sec.
That pole was achieved with one of Hamilton’s best ever laps, in the wet.
No fans were allowed inside the Red Bull Ring, though some stood behind fencing and high in the hills to catch a glimpse of the action.
