#racism in formula 1

[eterniravioli]

“it’s a nickname from karting!” “if he didn’t like it, he would say something!” i beg you use critical thinking skills just this once

first of all, where do you think the nickname came from if not people mispronouncing what is actually a very easy name to pronounce

second, you expect me to believe that half of the men on the grid who have never spoken to zhou for longer than a minute suddenly know him well enough to use a “nickname” from a time when they wouldn’t have even been in the same series

third, when you are in a field that is so dominated by western culture, both in terms of media and other drivers, it is not always as easy as “just say something”. chances are zhou has said something, given the fact that is was discussed by crofty and martin brundle at the beginning of 2022 and the fact that everyone at his own team says it correctly.

stop making excuses for blatant ignorance and sinophobia

[worldclueless]

trying to gather my thoughts and put this as eloquently as possible.

if you haven't caught up, recently jenson button gave an interview in which he gave advice to lewis hamilton about his move to ferrari. unsurprisingly, this spurred some 'discourse' (shudders) about how lewis ex-teammates-turned-pundits (mostly nico and jenson Imao) tend to give weird borderline-psycho analysis about lewis even though it has been quite a significant amount of time since they were teammates and who knows if this analysis is even too applicable to lewis as he has changed A LOT since his tenure with them.

and again, unsurprisingly, this brought out a chunk of the fanbase that can never pass up the opportunity to give a dig at lewis and treat guy's like jenson and nico's words like gospel. one frankly gross post went on and on and on about how unbothered jenson was during his time as lewis's teammate (no he was not) and how much of a paranoid weirdo freak lewis was about being challenged by a teammate (never mind the fact his first teammate was fernando fucking alonso).

and this is a worrying trend i see growing amongst a faction of f1 fans who try and ignore the context of lewis and his place in the sport. lewis is a black man in a predominantly white sport. jenson nor nico, no matter how much people will place them on some babygirl pedestal, will NEVER know what that means or what this is like so whenever i hear them recount their time together as teammates, the context of this is always lost.

in 2011, lewis had split with his dad as his manager and was going through a tumultuous time with his girlfriend, nicole. i don't know about you, but if my personal relationships with the people i cared about were on rocky grounds, that would tend to affect how i interact with people at my workplace. nevermind the fact that it was also magazine gossip fodder. that type of spotlight affects you heavy. especially working in the toxic environment of early 2010s mcclaren.

nowadays, lewis, at best, is professional and cordial with both jenson and nico which is not a problem but for some reason some fans think lewis's attention and time should be spent fawning and talking about these men. they're unable to see him as somebody that is not fanfiction fodder for their white faves and it is generally disturbing the lengths they will go to to justify their lack of empathy, compassion, and consideration of his place as he tries to exist within a space that was resistant to accommodating his identity (2007 barcelona testing anyone?).

and if it wasn't bad enough, these same 'fans' have the cheek to imply that hamilton is psychologically weak for not engaging with these guys beyond a professional level. the same man who was racially abused by grown white adults since the age of 12 is psychologically weak. wow. truly stunning. and these fans always give a half-hearted "yeah of course lewis has gone through some racial trauma but-" but nothing. end of. your what fav and you have no fucking clue as to what racial trauma does to black children and how it seriously impacts them. so don't ever try to erase this impact. you're overstepping: it's not your place.

so if it wasn't clear: lewis hamilton does not owe your white fav anything. if he wants to mind his business while rolling by in his scooter, that's not a problem. you brocedes/slagclaren types that only tolerate him for his proximity to these white men are frankly, racist, and your pathetic attempts to hide behind your racism because lewis isn't as perfect as he tries to be' (yeah no shit) make it such a hostile environment for black fans who can smell your bs from a mile away.

[cobraonthecob]

actually you know what. i'm so done with this fandom acting like honda wanting a japanese driver on the grid in order to go through with the partnership was like holding red bull at gunpoint and grabbing some random japanese guy off the street and putting them in an F1 car

yuki's career is so very different from so many other drivers; guanyu had to move to britain to have a more competitive karting field, but yuki remained in japan until after two years of F4 japan (where he placed 3rd in his first year and 1st in his second). he went to italy - at the age of 18/19 - to compete in F3 italy, before moving on to F2 WHERE HE CAME P3. ONE POINT BEHIND CALLUM ILLOT AND 15 BEHIND MICK, BOTH OF WHOM WERE ON THEIR SECOND FULL YEARS IN F2

yes, honda may have asked for a japanese driver to be on the grid, but they had managed to find the best one to be under the red bull-honda program and HE MANAGED TO GET INTO F1. yuki not only had to sign onto the right team at the right time, he had to beat way more experienced drivers than him AND HE DID (for context: robert was P4 in F2 2020, scored 177 points, yuki scored 200).

so yeah. respect on yuki's name, especially when multiple drivers of color who weren't born+grew up in europe have spoken about how hard it is to get into f1 if you're not living in europe already.

don't fucking @ me about the european drivers who learned english as a second language. this isn't about them

[spiderbeam]

little rant here but the recent articles that came out on zhou calling out the racism he has faced during his career has led me to think on a few things that have bothered me quite a while about f1 fans.

with zhou’s statement people are now pretty aware and conscious of the unfair treatment he has had throughout the years—the same way nearly everyone agrees that alex albon has also faced discrimination during his career the “being british when he does well but being thai when he doesn’t” still breaks my heart.

but i also believe that one of the drivers facing racism on the daily that is often overlooked is checo. but some of you are not ready to have this conversation.

[umlewis]

Lewis Hamilton: "Racial Element" To FIA Boss' "Rapper" Comments

Lewis Hamilton raised concerns over FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem comparing Formula 1 drivers swearing on team radio to "rappers," saying there was a "racial element" to Ben Sulayem's comments.

In an interview with Motorsport.com, Ben Sulayem said the FIA plans to clamp down on use of profanities over team radio, including removing offensive language from F1 broadcasts.

"We have to differentiate between our sport, motorsport, and rap music," Ben Sulayem told Motorsport. "We're not rappers, you know. They say the F-word how many times per minute? We are not on that. That's them and we are [us]."

When asked about the comments, Hamilton said he understood the move to cut down on swearing for the benefit of younger audiences, but took issue with the comparison.

"With what he's saying, I don't like how he's expressed it, saying that rappers is very stereotypical," Hamilton said. "You think about most rappers are Black. That really kind points it towards, when it says we're not like them.

So I think those are the wrong choice of words. There's a racial element there. But, as I said, I agree with the fact that I think [it needs] cleaning up a little bit."

ESPN has approached the FIA for comment.

In March this year, amid controversies surrounding the governing body, Hamilton said Ben Sulayem has never had his support.

The comments followed investigations by the FIA's compliance department into Ben Sulayem in which the FIA president cleared of wrongdoing, and news that F1 Academy boss Susie Wolff was taking legal action against the FIA over a short-lived investigation into an alleged conflict of interest between Wolff and her husband, Toto.

The FIA's plans to cut down swearing over team radio became a major talking point during driver media engagements ahead of this weekend's Singapore Grand Prix. Speaking about the clampdown, Hamilton said younger drivers are less likely to censor their own language but that he now makes an effort not to use profanities.

"When I was 22 I didn't think of it as much and it was more your emotions are just firing and you're saying whatever comes to mind, forgetting how many people are listening and the kids that are listening, all those kinds of things," Hamilton said.

"I agree in that sense that you listen to some of the younger drivers and they just have not got it yet, and at some stage they probably will. I'm sure if there's penalties for it, people will stop it. I don't know whether that's something that's needed. I definitely think there is a little bit too much of it.

It's good to have some emotions. We're not robots. And for me, the way I control it is because there's like over 2,000 people that are working towards me having this position and being where I am.

I've got a lot of followers of all ages. It's not about me, and even though I'm having this experience on-track, what I do and what I say affects all those people who are sacrificing time with their families, who are giving absolutely everything to have this privileged position and opportunity.

I think it's just understanding that, and putting the aggression somewhere else. That's what I try and do."

[kirasworldofwords]

Dear F1 community, we need to talk.

Context: This was on a video of F1 drivers with their dogs for International Dog Day. And no, I don't see a point in censoring their names, they deserve whatever will come to them for this. I said what I said.

First of all, what the fuck is this. Secondly, why do these comments have so many likes in the first place?? Are you fucking kidding me?? And why was I the first one to speak up about this? Yes, the one calling them out is my account, I don't care what you do with it, it's private so have fun or whatever.

But on a different note:

CAN WE PLEASE START PUBLICALLY CALLING OUT AND SHAMING RACISTS IN OUR COMMUNITY? THANK YOU. Because genuinely. WHAT THE EVERLOVING FUCK.

Everyone who sees such behavior but stays silent is complicit and thus quietly agrees - I just want y'all to know that. I'd rather call out a racist, embarrass them and fight them on this shit than sit by idly and just watch like many others do.

And the fact that this comment has so many likes, too... Are y'all even trying to hide it anymore?? What in the grand unholy fucking hell.

I am fucking disappointed.

[scuderiamint]

thoughts/messy rant from the baku weekend aka carlos sainz and rbr you are on my shitlist, fuck you :

that three way battle for the win that almost turned into a 4 way battle was so fuckin cool and i need more of that (preferably with max in the mix there)

charles leclerc actually fighting that mclaren rocket deserves a standing ovation

that clip of max waiting for charles in the back of a lewis interview is the only thing that kept me going for the majority of this weekend ngl

checo and baku is like a magical mix, he loves this track so much, its so beautiful seeing a driver love a track this much

speaking of checo, carlos sainz i am going to liquidate you and your williams contract for next year so you never step foot on this fucking grid again, you absolute bastard of a driver

anyways

oscar you are such an impressive driver

him pulling a win after all the mclaren bs about "papaya rules" was Beautiful

thank you mark webber and your black magic

now we get to my fav part :)

red bull fuckin racing ...

max literally said he was comfy with the fp3 set up and then the team changes it

not just changes it, REMOVES THE ONE FUCKIN UPGRADE THEY BROUGHT FOR THIS WEEKEND

MAX WAS LITERALLY DRIVING AN OLDER VERSION OF THE FUCKASS CAR.

baku and singapore is gonna be such a crucial damage limitation double header and the team couldnt even take advantage of a p15 starting lando ????????

??????

that dumb petty radio from lando after the race annoyed me even more cuz of this fuck off dude

max passes you so he could give you thumbs up for the race as a celebration and you become a whining loser on the radio ?? your engineer literally tells you it doesnt matter cuz the race is over and you still whine about it, brother what ??

the only good thing from this weekend is that it genuinely seems like rbr have figured out what the working window for the car is and now simply need to find the boundaries of it cuz they did perfectly with checo while max' set up was outside of that window

max' "we could be surprising" or wtv comment about Singapore is making me very delusional rn so i will be manifesting a career first Singapore win for max 🕯🕯

oh and a final note

fuck you sainz

[cjestme]

wdym a rich white man is a victim of misogyny😭 look at our feminists dawg we’re never making it out😭

i wish f1 fans cared more about the racism and xenophobia that lewis, yuki and the few drivers of color face in this sport instead of trying to weaponize their white feminism over a rich white man just cuz he’s pretty.

[erelavent]

Lance Stroll: *exists*

People: Fuck that guy!

[leclerc-s]

i knew there was racism in f1 but the way i've seen some of y'all have been acting towards checo since his contract extension was announced is unbelievable...go touch grass

[danipedrosas-boatest]

Tw: racism, Donald trump

Ya know what makes me really fucking angry? The fact that McLaren, home to one of the most famous Mexican drivers in all of motorsport Pato O'Ward, willingly let Donald Trump into their garage and welcomed him.

Fucking disgusting

[awwhawkeye]

Fuck people making light about this, that crash wasn't funny.

[silentreigns]

I think the plot is getting lost. The man used a bunch of racist dogwhistles. That's not being discussed enough and it shouldn't be forgotten. Not to mention in all of the history of motorsport the most well-known personalities are known for explosive personalities and as a result, foul language

[donewiththisshitplsstop]

All I'm gonna say is that when Lewis said maybe he gets treated differently because he's black people CAMPAIGNED to kick him out off F1 including Bernie Ecclestone. But now that Fernando is mirroring those same words it's suddenly not that big of a deal.

[umlewis]

Lewis Hamilton Champions F1 Return To Africa, Says Sport Can't 'Ignore' Continent

Formula One's summer shutdown is a fourteen day period for the paddock to recharge. Some visit family, others go to the beach with their friends. Lewis Hamilton started his break similarly, visiting his family in Turkey before devoting part of his break to traveling through Africa. He tried to maximize his time there, he said, going "straight from the airport into activities, history museums and just cultural experiences in each of the different countries I went to." Hamilton stopped in Morocco first and later visited Senegal and Gorée Island off the coast of its capital city, Dakar, which served as a prominent French slave trade base until 1848. Further into the trip, Hamilton met refugees at the Maratane Refugee Settlement in northern Mozambique, a country that's home to more than 33,000 refugees (predominantly from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and Rwanda), according to the UNHCR. "There's so much to take from it," Hamilton said Thursday in Zandvoort, Netherlands, ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix weekend. "I'm still digesting the trip and going to a refugee camp and seeing the work being done there and how people are displaced." Hamilton shared how "it's one thing reading about it and seeing it on the news, but actually seeing it and speaking to kids who have ten kilometers to get to school to have an education and then ten kilometers back and not having school meals, not able to eat during the day." He said children and women seemed most affected and that he noticed not many men were around the camp "because they're either killed or taken in different conflict areas." That was really heavy to see and experience, and then in Senegal and seeing the slave areas just to see what the country has been through, and it's such a beautiful place. Through all those experience, it's adding to my compass of what I want to do going forward." These experiences got his mind working, he said at Zandvoort. "It's great to see organizations doing amazing work, and what can I do to get on board? How can I help?"

Conversations continue to arise around bringing F1 back to Africa, which hasn't had a grand prix since 1993 and is the only continent (aside from Antartica) that doesn't have a race. Rwanda is one location, and Hamilton said Thursday that he has "been doing a lot of work in the background and spoken to people in Rwanda and South Africa." The current Concorde Agreement allows for 25 races a year, and F1 continues to expand the calendar, recently adding two more grands prix in the United States (Miami in 2022 and Las Vegas in 2023). The Mercedes driver said that the current reason for not competing in Africa is because a track isn't ready; however, as Hamilton pointed out, "there is at least one track that's ready" - Kyalami in South Africa, where the 1993 race was held. "We can't be adding races in other locations and continue to ignore Africa, which the rest of the world takes from. No one gives anything to Africa," Hamilton said. "There's a huge amount of work there that needs to be done. I think a lot of the world that haven't been there don't realize how beautiful the place is and how vast it is. I think having a grand prix there would really be able to highlight how great the place is and bring in tourism and all sorts of things, so why are we not on that continent?"

With or without you: Hamilton prepares for life after Bono

Ahead of this weekend's race at Zandvoort, Mercedes confirmed that Pete Bonnington, Hamilton's long-serving race engineer, had been promoted into a new role as head of race engineering at the team. By committing his future to Mercedes, Bonnington-known as Bono -put an end to suggestions that he could follow Hamilton to Ferrari for next year. He will remain Hamilton's race engineer through the rest of the 2024 season and will continue to engineer one of the Mercedes drivers next year. Asked by The Athletic about Bonnington's decision, Hamilton said he "would have loved to have continued with Bono" next year, saying he was "like a brother." The pair have worked together for six of Hamilton's seven world championships, making Bonnington the longest-serving engineer in the Mercedes driver's seventeen year F1 career. Hamilton said he was "really, really, really happy" for Bonnington and understood why it would be difficult for him to also move to Ferrari. "I knew it would be an unlikely scenario that he would go with me because it's such a drastic change within his life," Hamilton said. "But I'm really happy the team have acknowledged and made changes so he can grow more with it. I think he'll now be able to show even more of the great things that he's been doing. But either way, we're going to be family forever. We've spoken about it. We just want to make sure we finish on a high." Hamilton will not learn the identity of his new race engineer at Ferrari until January, when he officially starts on the team, which he admitted was "tough." "That makes it really difficult," Hamilton said. "I think it's probably the same for anyone moving into a new office. It's not until you go. It'll be very heavy-loaded at the start of next year."

[cobraonthecob]

actually wait. so lando can sing praises about the rotten orange and y'all will defend it, but if guanyu vaguely breathes in the direction of china, y'all act like he just praised the chinese government. be fucking consistent. like i know this is the shitty rich men sport and i'm going to call out the fandom fools, okay