Story at a glance
- Motorsport organization Formula One announced a new campaign for diversity in car racing.
- The current champion, Lewis Hamilton, is a Black driver who has been candid about racism during his career.
Formula One, the governing body that oversees single-seater auto racing cars used in championships, announced an anti-racism initiative on Monday that will encourage more diversity in the series, The Associated Press (AP) reports.
Formula One, sometimes known as F1, released a statement titled “We Race As One,” and outlined the association’s intent to tackle racism alongside other larger issues, from the COVID-19 pandemic to sustainability.
“We want our restart to show that as a sporting community we stand united against racism and we will do more to address inequality and diversity in F1,” the statement wrote.
The initiative will be formally launched when racing resumes in Austria after four months of limited racing due to the pandemic.
“We will show our full support in fighting inequality throughout the weekend and accelerate our own efforts to make Formula 1 more diverse and inclusive. As a global sport we must represent the diversity and social concerns of our fans, but we also need to listen more and understand what needs to be done and get on with delivering,” Chase Carey, the Chairman and CEO of F1, said.
The current F1 Champion is English driver Lewis Hamilton, who is the only Black driver in the series.
Motorsport industries have joined others in denouncing institutionalized racism following protests after the death of George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer.
NASCAR driver Darrell “Bubba” Wallace, Jr., a Black American driver, recently called for NASCAR to ban the Confederate flag from races, citing a history of oppression represented by the flag.
Earlier today, NASCAR reported that a noose was found in his garage stall in Alabama.
“[We] will do everything we can to identify the person responsible and eliminate them from the sport,” the organization said in a statement. “As we have stated unequivocally, there is no place for racism in NASCAR, and this act only strengthens our resolve to make the sport open and welcoming to all.”
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