Lewis Hamilton led a majority of the 20 Formula One drivers in taking a knee in a gesture of anti-racism solidarity on the grid before the start of th

Hamilton leads majority of drivers in taking knee at Austrian GP

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2020-07-05 14:28:24

Lewis Hamilton led a majority of the 20 Formula One drivers in taking a knee in a gesture of anti-racism solidarity on the grid before the start of the belated season-opening Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday.

Hamilton wore a Black Lives Matter t-shirt, while other drivers, who all lined up with him at the front of the grid, sported black tops saying “End racism”.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen had confirmed a split among F1 drivers when they said they would not take a knee on the grid, but that they remained committed to fighting racism.

Defending six-time champion Hamilton, who had been relegated to fifth on the grid from second following a Red Bull protest an hour before the start, bowed his head as he took a knee at the front.

Lewis Hamilton, the sport’s only black race winner and champion, has been outspoken in his support for the anti-racism movement Black Lives Matter (BLM) since the death last month of black American George Floyd under the knee of a police officer.