The third stage of Formula 1 at the Hungarian Hungaroring started again with a protest against racism initiated by Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton. A few hours after his victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix, he made a new statement about the significance of the pre-start protest ceremony. The Briton suggested that some people are still not serious about "racism", because they have not encountered it personally.

“There are those who, for the same reason, say, 'This does not concern me.' I heard comments like: "It doesn't affect me in any way, so why should I do something?" But it's not about me or you. There is a fight going on. We fight for people who face discrimination. We are fighting for changes in organizations ”, - quotes the words of the Briton Facefans.

Recall that for three stages, the pilots kneel on one knee before the start of the Sunday race, and also wear T-shirts with anti-racist slogans. Some of the participants in the ceremony do not kneel, including the Russian Daniil Kvyat.

At the same time, the action at the Hungarian Grand Prix did not last long: as soon as the pilots knelt down, the local anthem played, and the riders stood up so as not to show disrespect. However, not all pilots made it to the ceremony.

In addition, the six-time world champion criticized Haas driver Romain Grosjean, who heads the Grand Prix Drivers Association.

“Grosjean doesn’t think it’s important. He is one of those who believe that having done this once, you can do nothing more. I tried to discuss with him the essence of this problem, to explain to him that it will not go anywhere on its own and that we need to continue the struggle for equality. It seems that this time he never mentioned anything at the meeting of the pilots, like Vettel. But I corresponded with Vettel, and he, like me, stressed the importance of continuing this action, "- said Hamilton.

The German confirmed the words of his colleague that the ceremony at the Hungaroring should have been organized more carefully. He assured that in the near future the riders will again discuss this problem among themselves.

The Frenchman was defended by the head of Haas, Gunther Steiner. He expressed confidence that the driver continues to support the idea of ​​combating racism, although he does not consider it necessary to continue such actions.

“The question arises, how long do we have to carry out this action? You show your support, and we also fully support him as teammates and just humanly. But everyone decides for himself what to do next and until what time to continue. I think we are all for the idea, we were engaged in it, and if someone decides to stop participating, this does not mean that he is not against racism. This also needs to be understood. We live in a free world, ”said Steiner.

President of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) Jean Todt also responded to criticism from Hamilton. He stressed that he understands the position of the pilots who refuse to kneel in protest against discrimination.

“Lewis is active on the issue of racism because it’s a very significant topic for him. But all people are different. Someone speaks out loudly, and someone unobtrusively. Our common goal is to end racism. I believe that life matters. The lives of all people matter, not just blacks, yellows or whites. All lives ", - quoted Todt portal GranPX.

New ambiguous statements by Hamilton, who on this basis has already managed to quarrel with the former head of Formula 1 Bernie Ecclestone and accuse the veteran of royal races Mario Andretti of ignorance for his statement, divided motorsport into two camps. Some note the importance of pre-start protests, while others urge not to mix sports and politics.

The first Russian test driver of Formula 1 Sergey Zlobin recalled that the Briton himself does not differ in exemplary behavior.

“This circus, to be honest, is bored. That Hamilton shows the middle finger to other riders, for which he should have been immediately kicked out of the series. Now, at his whim, the Mercedes car is painted black, and the pilots get down on one knee. This is no longer Formula 1, but some kind of political rally, "Izvestia quotes Zlobin.

At the same time, Valtteri Bottas also supported the Mercedes partner. Explaining his decision to kneel, he emphasized that he did not like politics, but was in solidarity with Hamilton, who used every opportunity to remind him of the problem.