A week before the Styrian Grand Prix in Austria. Formula 1 race car driver Lewis Hamilton was met with mixed emotion as he kneel in protest during the Austrian national anthem. He was at the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix, a race in which (he) the only black driver in the sport placed 4th. However, six of the 20 drivers remained standing during the protest before the Austrian national anthem. Leaving the press with an awkward photo and an assumed divide in the sport of Formula 1 Racing.
Hamilton, wore a Black Lives Matter t-shirt, while other drivers, who all lined up with him at the front of the grid, wore black shirts that said “End Racism”.
However, this week at the Styrian Grand Prix in Austria. Lewis Hamilton raised his right fist high in the air. Solidifying his victory with a strong Black Power salute as he crawled from his car, and again as he stood on the podium. A gesture that Tommie Smith and John Carlos immortalized at the 1968 Olympic Games. Hamilton vowed to fight racism even if it's a lifelong fight, following his Black Power salute and victory.
“Racism is going to be here for longer than our time here,” Hamilton said. “People of color who are subject to racism don’t have time. We have to commit to push for equality and continue to raise awareness.”
“A lot of work needs to go on in F1, the FIA needs to be part of it, the drivers need to be a part of it. We are going to be fighting and pushing for it all year. For me, this is going to be a lifelong thing.”