LONDON: Formula 1 world champions Mercedes announced Monday they would be switching the colours of Lewis Hamilton’s and Valtteri Bottas’s cars to black as they make a stand against racism and discrimination, and pledge to improve the diversity of their team.
The announcement comes amid global protests around the world in support of Black Lives Matter, a campaign which Hamilton – the first black superstar in F1 history – has vocally supported.
Hamilton has since announced the setting up of a new commission to improve diversity in motorsport, while Formula 1 has launched the #WeRaceAsOne initiative, along with a new Task Force specifically focused at identifying the employment and education opportunities for under-represented groups across Formula 1.
“Racism and discrimination have no place in our society, our sport or our team: this is a core belief of Mercedes,” said team principal Toto Wolff. “But having the right beliefs and the right mindset isn’t enough if we remain silent.
“We wish to use our voice and our global platform to speak up for respect and equality, and the Silver Arrow will race in black for the entire 2020 season to show our commitment to greater diversity within our team and our sport.”
In Mercedes’ organisation, just three per cent of the workforce identify as belonging to minority ethnic groups and only 12% of employees are women. The team say it’s this lack of diversity that shows they need to find new approaches to attract talent from any areas of society they do not currently reach, and they have committed to announcing a diversity and inclusion programme before the end of the season.
