Lewis Hamilton Speaks On Abortion, Hosts Michelle Obama At Miami Grand Prix
Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton finished sixth in last weekend’s inaugural Miami Grand Prix, but he’s still first on the elite racing circuit at speaking out about social injustice.
Hamilton, Formula 1’s only Black driver and the winningest driver in the circuit’s history, spent last week making noise off the track as well on. He took to Instagram to support abortion rights after a leak revealed the Supreme Court was poised to reverse Roe v. Wade (the post appears to have since been deleted). He rocked enough jewelry to make Slick Rick jealous in protest of a Formula 1 safety rule banning drivers from wearing jewelry while racing. He even hosted Michelle Obama in the pit during his qualifying runs.
And he won’t stop reminding everyone that his sport is still woefully lacking diversity. In other words, Lewis Hamilton is the British celebrity athlete that Americans don’t know we need.
Hamilton remains as much a change agent 16 years into his career as when he became the first Black winner in F1 in 2008. The British racer is now 37 years old, is the winningest driver in series history and is tied with Michael Schumacher with a record seven titles. Hamilton remains the only Black driver at the most elite level of motorsports.
He uses his platform to speak on issues of social justice and race, human rights and protection of the LBGTQ community. Hamilton speaks while racing in countries with questionable human rights records, or when an issue arises in which he feels his voice can lend support.
Hamilton is a rarity as a Black driver in one of the world’s richest sports. To address the lack of diversity in racing, he started his own organization, the Hamilton Commission, to study how to address his sport’s overwhelming whiteness and how to bring more diversity into STEM fields broadly.
Unlike NASCAR, which is an American phenomenon that features drivers speeding around circular tracks, Formula 1 racing is an international sport known as much for attracting elites for events as for its racing. Heads of state, billionaires, sports figures and entertainers show up for pre-and post-race events, many of whom travel to the races by megayacht.
Since the Miami Grand Prix was held in suburban Miami Gardens, a mostly Black neighborhood that doesn’t have direct access to the beach, F1 actually built a fake marina small enough to hold 10 scaled-down yachts just for the race.