Lewis Hamilton targeted by online racists after Silverstone win

Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton was the subject of racist taunts on social media as he won his eighth British Grand Prix at Silverstone on Sunday, the latest ugly show of discrimination in sport that will place fresh pressure on technology companies to do more to tackle online abuse.

Racist posts and tweets tarnished the global car racing series’ return to the British track, where Hamilton achieved victory after a dramatic first-lap collision with world championship leader Max Verstappen, who had to retire from the race without claiming any points.

In an act of unity, Hamilton’s Mercedes team, Formula One and the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile, which regulates the sport, jointly condemned the racist abuse.

“These people have no place in our sport and we urge that those responsible should be held accountable for their actions,” they said in a statement released on Monday morning.

Separately, Red Bull said: “As a team, we are disgusted and saddened to witness the racist abuse Lewis endured yesterday on social media after the collision with Max. There is never any excuse for it [and] there is certainly no place for it in our sport.”

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said: “Highly charged emotions should never cross the line into racist abuse.”

Hamilton was targeted by racists during and after the race, just one week after similar abuse of England footballers Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka, who missed penalties in the Euro 2020 final against Italy.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has already urged social media platforms to “up their game” on racism, with UK lawmakers set to introduce an online safety bill this autumn to tackle the issue of online abuse posted by anonymous users.

The seven-time F1 champion’s Hamilton Commission, a research project set up last year with the Royal Academy of Engineering, called on F1 teams to implement a diversity and inclusion charter to create more opportunities and funding for young black people to work in motorsport.

Hamilton has suffered repeated instances of racism during his time in F1. Fans at the Spanish Grand Prix in 2008 applied black face paint and wore shirts that read “Hamilton’s family”. He has also challenged the sport itself to become more diverse and urged fellow drivers to take the knee following the murder of George Floyd in the US last year.

As well as tackling racism and trying to make a difference for young black people, Hamilton is chasing his eighth F1 driver’s championship. His victory at Silverstone enabled him to close the gap on Verstappen to just eight points.

The stakes are high this season because Verstappen and Red Bull are leading the drivers’ and constructors’ championships after seven years of domination by Hamilton and Mercedes.

Hamilton’s victory came despite a 10-second penalty for his role in the crash.

Verstappen on Sunday labelled Hamilton “disrespectful” and “unsportsmanlike” for celebrating while the Red Bull driver was still in hospital. Horner had questioned the adequacy of Hamilton’s penalty and accused him of a “desperate mistake”.