Spielberg bei Knittelfeld (Austria) (AFP)
Charles Leclec (Ferrari) and Max Verstappen (Red Bull) will not kneel before the Austrian F1 Grand Prix, although they support the fight against racism, they announced on social media on Sunday, less than two hours before departure.
"I think the important thing is the daily facts and behaviors more than formal gestures which could be perceived as controversial in certain countries", writes the Monegasque pilot on Instagram. "I will not put my knee on the ground but that does not at all mean that I am less committed than the others in the fight against racism", he ends.
"I think everyone has the right to express themselves when and how they want," says Verstappen on Twitter. "I will not kneel down but I respect and support the personal choices of each driver."
While, prompted by the Briton Lewis Hamilton, several drivers and teams, as well as F1 and the International Automobile Federation (FIA), took a stand against racism following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police officers in the United States -United at the end of May, a collective action is planned before the start of the first round of the season.
Before the Austrian national anthem, a message from F1 and the FIA will be broadcast, at the end of which the drivers will be able to express their support in the way of their choice, by a gesture or by wearing a T-shirt marked with words "end racism" provided by the pilots' union, the GPDA.
Several of them, like the French Romain Grosjean and Esteban Ocon, the Australian Daniel Ricciardo and even Hamilton, confirmed planning to make a gesture, the latter however regretting that they could not agree on joint action.
The Mercedes sport this season a black livery to support the Black Lives Matter movement and the fight against racism and the paddock and the cars are decorated this weekend with rainbows in tribute to the struggles against racism but also against the Covid-19.
The promoter of F1 has also set up an action to increase diversity in the sport, very white and very masculine, to which the FIA announced to contribute financially on Sunday.
The start of the inaugural GP of the 2020 season, on the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, will be given at 3.10 p.m. (1.10 p.m. GMT) with the Finn Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) in pole position.
The season should have started in mid-March in Australia but was delayed by the new coronavirus pandemic. It begins, at a minimum, with a series of eight races in Europe until early September, for the hour behind closed doors and following a strict sanitary protocol.
© 2020 AFP