Formula 1 returned to Miama this weekend at the Miami International Autodrome for the second time. The weekend was full of some chaotic moments, and World champion Max Verstappen claimed his third victory of the season finishing just ahead of Sergio Pérez. Both drivers represent Red Bull, which has consistently maintained its winning streak this season.
F1 saw a drastic rise in popularity post-COVID, seeing a massive increase in passionate fans from 12% in 2017 to 34% in 2021. Many of its drivers, including Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, and Lewis Hamilton are enjoying an international fanbase thanks to social media.
But unlike many of them– seven-time Formula One champion Hamilton, F1’s only Black driver, especially uses his global platform to voice his opinions against social injustices. Ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, Hamilton did not hold back in criticising Florida for its recent streak of anti-LGBTQ measures.
“I did hear and have read about some of the decisions that have been made in government here and I do not agree with it and I do not support it,” the star told reporters, according to ESPN.
Republican government Ron DeSantis signed the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law into state law at the end of March this year– which bans lessons on sexual orientation in schools. The state also passed an anti-drag law in April.
The star compared his race in Florida to racing in Saudi Arabia and said he’ll have a rainbow on his helmet to protest the state’s anti-LGBTQ measures. Hamilton, who’s from the UK frequently wears a rainbow flag on his helmet, especially when he races in countries with restrictive laws targeting the LGTBQ community.
Hamilton’s comments came the same day as Florida’s state Senate also passed a ban against gender-affirming treatment for transgender minors.
Prior to last year’s maiden Miami race, Hamilton spoke out on the Roe v. Wade debate, which surrounded abortion rights in the USA, saying: ‘I love being in the States, but I can’t ignore what’s going on right now and what some in the government are trying to do to the women who live here.
Although the Mercedes driver is against it, the Mercedes driver has said that it’s ‘not his decision’ whether F1 should continue organising races in Miami due to their social policies.
Hamilton regularly uses his platform to speak on issues of social justice and race, human rights and protection of the LGBTQ community.
At the beginning of this year, Formula One’s governing body– the FIA, said drivers would be prohibited from passing political statements at events. The FIA had previously seen drivers including Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel raising awareness of social justice issues. Now retired, Vettel wore a tee shirt at the Miami Grand Prix last year to raise awareness of climate change, and Hamilton has also been a prominent supporter of Black Lives Matter, pushed for wider diversity across the sport including behind the scenes, and backed environmental causes.
The drivers pushed back and the FIA clarified its position to allow drivers to respond to questions. Hamilton has already had disagreements with the FIA over their ban on jewellery. He had previously said he wasn’t going to follow the FIA guidance anyway.
Hamilton became the first Black race winner in F1 in 2008. Now in the final year of his contract with Mercedes, Hamilton is one of the best drivers in the series history– tying with Michael Schumacher with a record seven titles. He finished sixth in Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix, over 50 seconds behind eventual race winner Max Verstappen.
