Lewis Hamilton: Social Justice in the Paddock

With 2020 highlighting serious social justice issues and inequalities around the world, Formula Ones’ first and only black driver, Lewis Hamilton, aimed to bring awareness to such inequalities.

Hamilton is a generational talent who many consider to be the best driver that has graced the grid. With seven world championships to his name, Hamilton uses his massive following to highlight social issues that plague our world today.

Starting his prized career in 2007, Hamilton is no stranger to the type of racism and inequality that people of color face day in and day out. Even recently, Hamilton had to deal with racist remarks both on social media and at track when they raced at Silverstone.

Dealing with racism personally and globally, Hamilton knew his voice needed to be heard.

When Breanna Taylor was wrongfully murdered by police officers in her own home, Hamilton immediately sprung into action.

Supporting black lives matter shirts around the paddock and in interviews, it was clear that the subject meant a lot to the highly successful driver.

But if Hamilton really wanted to provide a message he would need help from his team, Mercedes-AMG Petronas. To make a clear statement of black lives matter, Hamilton came up with the idea to change the iconic “silver arrow” livery of the Mercedes to a black livery with matching black overalls.

With the decision to go with the black livery, Mercedes promised to look into their diversity in the workforce and aimed to increase said diversity in the coming years.

Referring to himself as a social justice warrior, Hamilton started “Mission 44”, a charity foundation to increase the diversity both in the world of motor sport and in the paddock.

Pledging $30 million of his own money, Mercedes once again backed their lead driver by partnering their own charity foundation, “Ignite”, with Hamiltons to improve the diversity of students focusing on STEM and engineering.

On top of this, Hamilton also created “The Hamilton Commision” which focuses targeted research and development to come up with different solutions to said problems.

In July, Formula One could no longer remain quiet on the situation as the research from the Hamilton Commission showed that only 1% of black individuals ended up studying STEM or engineering.

The research also showed that the hiring process for most of Formula Ones employees favored individuals from a higher academic and financial background, leaving those who are truly in love with the sport.

Continuing his outspoken ways, Hamilton has not only been a leader in tackling these social issues head on but also remains to be one of the most respected and well listened to drivers around the paddock.