An interview with three-time world champion Nelson Piquet last year came to light this week, in which he used a racist slur in reference to Hamilton, prompting condemnation from the F1 community and his expulsion from the paddock.
Piquet apologized to Hamilton but denied his comment was racist in intent and questioned how it was translated.
Hamilton appeared on Thursday at the FIA press conference ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix, speaking publicly for the first time on the matter, and thanked them for the support they had shown him.
“I’ve been getting racism and criticism and that negativity and archaic speech for a long, long time, and undertones of discrimination,” Lewis Hamilton said.
“So there’s nothing particularly new for me. I think it’s more of a bigger picture.”
“I don’t really know why we keep giving voice to those older voices. Because they’re talking about our sport, and we’re looking to go to a completely different point, and it’s not representative of who we are as a sport right now and where we’re going. planning to go.”
“We want to grow in the United States and in other countries, in South Africa, and we have to look to the future and give younger people a platform that is more representative of the current era, and what we try to be in the direction in which we go”.
“It’s not just about one individual, it’s not just about one use of that term. It’s about the bigger picture.”
Both the FIA and F1 issued statements condemning Piquet’s comments, a stance echoed by several teams in a show of solidarity with Hamilton.
But Hamilton said the “knee-jerk reaction” to condemn racism “wasn’t enough”, adding: “Now it’s about real action. We have to start real action.”
“F1, the media, shouldn’t give those people a platform. These old voices, whether subconscious or conscious, don’t agree with people like me being in a sport like this, with women being here. “.
“Discrimination is not something that we should project and promote, and give a platform to create and divide people.”
“In the last two weeks, I don’t think there’s been a day where someone from the past, who hasn’t been relevant in our sport for decades, has tried to say negative things and started to bring me down.”
“But I’m still here and I’m still strong.”
Since the last race, the Canadian GP, Hamilton has also faced criticism from Sir Jackie Stewart, who questioned whether the Mercedes driver should stay in the series, and Bernie Ecclestone , the former F1 boss.
Hamilton insisted on the need for F1 teams and companies to take responsibility and focus on inclusion going forward, taking steps to improve diversity in the championship.
“It’s great to be on the grid and talk about inclusion,” Hamilton said. “But they are just empty talk if we don’t take action.”
“This is a growing business. Teams are making more money than ever before, and they will continue to grow. I don’t know of all the other funding that has gone into D&I [diversity and inclusion]. I’m willing to bet it’s not as much that we have invested and plan to invest”.
“I’ve been in calls with every F1 team that has agreed to be part of that F1 charter and hasn’t signed on yet, and it’s not going live yet.
“We cannot continue to give repercussion to those voices that all they do is create that division out there.”
