Monaco-based Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton on Thursday announced the members of his own commission of inquiry to tackle the lack of diversity and opportunity he says is endemic in the sport.
The move represents another step by Hamilton to increase his visibility on matters of race and inequality.
The British six-time Formula One world champion has been vocal in his support of the Black Lives Matter movement and earlier this month wore a T-shirt demanding the arrest of American police officers, as Breitbart News reported.
“Justice for Breonna Taylor,” Hamilton said. “It took me a long time to get that shirt, and I’ve been wanting to wear that and bring awareness to the fact that there’s people that have been killed on the street and there’s someone that got killed in her own house.”
He later repeated his message on social media:
It’s been 6 months since Breonna Taylor was murdered by policemen, in her own home. Still no justice has been served. We won’t stay silent. #JusticeForBreonnaTaylor pic.twitter.com/7zinVHiYcH
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) September 13, 2020
The driver, who has an annual salary of $54 million and is believed to be have a net worth of some $285 million, launched the Hamilton Inquiry in June to reshape motor sport but only now has moved to publicly confirm those he has chosen to join him on his quest.
AFP reports the 14-member body includes Hamilton’s former McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh, former sports minister Tracey Crouch and Hayaatun Sillem, the chief executive of the Royal Academy of Engineering.
Hamilton, who will attempt to equal Michael Schumacher’s record of 91 Grand Prix wins in Russia this weekend — is the only black driver in Formula One.
“What is more concerning is that there are still very few people of color across the sport as a whole,” Hamilton said in a statement, as reported by AFP.
“In F1, our teams are much bigger than the athletes that front them, but representation is insufficient across every skill set — from the garage to the engineers in the factories and design departments.”
Hamilton said from his Monte Carlo home base that change must be made.
Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP stands on the grid wearing a shirt in tribute to the late Breonna Taylor before the F1 Grand Prix of Tuscany at Mugello Circuit on September 13, 2020 in Scarperia, Italy. (Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
“This is why I wanted to set up the commission,” he said. “And I’m proud to be working with the Royal Academy of Engineering and our incredible board of commissioners to identify the barriers facing young black people to take up STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) careers in motorsport.
“We are dedicated to this cause and, together, we will make a change.”
Demanding change is nothing new to Hamilton.
Despite his own declared penchant for private jet travel and making a living driving a car around in circles at an average 3 miles to the gallon, last year Hamilton told his fans to go vegan as it is “the only way to save the planet,” as Breitbart News reported.
He said he stopped eating red meat and was now “pescatarian for the majority of the year and now I’ve cut fish.” He continued:
As the human race, what we are doing to the world… the pollution [in terms of emissions of global-warming gases] coming from the amount of cows that are being produced is incredible.
They say it is more than what we produce with our flights and our cars, which is kind of crazy to think, the cruelty is horrible and I don’t necessarily want to support that and I want to live a healthier life.
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