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| Hamilton calls Ecclestone ignorant |
UPDATE
Lewis Hamilton has responded to Bernie Ecclestone’s comments on diversity, which have caused some controversy, with Formula 1 moving to distance itself from the former owner and boss of the sport.
“So sad and disappointing to read these comments," he wrote on Instagram, accompanied by photos of F1 fans in blackface with ‘Hamilton’s family’ written on their shirts.
“Bernie is out of the sport and a different generation but this is exactly what is wrong – ignorant or uneducated comments which show us how far we as a society need to go before real equality can happen.
“It makes complete sense to me now that nothing was said or done to make our sport more diverse or to address the racial abuse I received throughout my career.
“If someone who has run the sport for decades has such a lack of understanding of the deep-rooted issues we as black people deal with every day, how can we expect all the people who work under him to understand. It starts at the top.
“Now, the time has come for change. I will not stop pushing to create an inclusive future for our sport, with equal opportunity for all. To create a world that provides equal opportunity for minorities. I will continue to use my voice to represent those that don’t have one, and to speak for those who are underrepresented to provide an opportunity to have a chance in our sport."
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| Ecclestone says Black people are more racist than whites |
06/26/20 Lewis Hamilton, a six-time world champion and the first and only half-Black driver to compete in F1, has been a powerful voice following Floyd's death in Minneapolis last month.
Hamilton has joined protests, set up The Hamilton Commission to increase diversity in motorsport and called out F1's "biggest stars" for "staying silent … in the midst of injustice."
For his part, Bernie Ecclestone, who was replaced as chief executive of Formula One in 2017 after nearly four decades in charge, praised how Hamilton has spoken out for equality.
"Lewis is a little bit special," Ecclestone, who these days has an advisory role with F1 as Chairman Emeritus, told CNN Sport's Amanda Davies.
"First, he's very, very, very talented as a driver and he seems to be now extremely talented when he's standing up and can make speeches.
However, Ecclestone doesn't think incentives like The Hamilton Commission will have a tangible impact on the sport.
"I don't think it's going to do anything bad or good for Formula One," he said.
"It'll just make people think which is more important. I think that's the same for everybody. People ought to think a little bit and think: 'Well, what the hell. Somebody's not the same as White people and Black people should think the same about White people.'
"In lots of cases, Black people are more racist than what White people are."
CNN challenged Ecclestone over the assertion and he was unable to provide any concrete evidence for the baseless claim beyond saying that he had "noticed" it over the years.
The 89-year-old continued by saying that changing attitudes towards race won't come "easily," scorning the dismantling of statues of slave trade figures — a move Hamilton backed when the statue of Edward Colston was torn down in the English city of Bristol.
"I think they need to start being taught at school," said Ecclestone.
"So they grow up not having to think about these things. I think it's completely stupid taking all these statues down. They should've left them there. Take the kids from school to look and say why they're there and what the people did and how wrong it was what they did."
See full story at CNN
