London
Lewis Hamilton pledged on Thursday to grow the number of black people in motor racing, announcing members of his Hamilton Commission that aims to tackle the lack of diversity at all levels of the sport.
The British six-time Formula One world champion, who has been vocal in his support of the Black Lives Matter movement, launched the initiative in June.
The 14-member body includes Hamilton’s former McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh, former sports minister Tracey Crouch and Hayaatun Sillem, the chief executive of the Royal academy of Engineering.
Hamilton, who will attempt to equal Michael Schumacher’s record of 91 Grand Prix wins in Russia this weekend — is the only black driver in Formula One.
Red Bull’s British-born Thai Alexander Albon is the sport’s only other non-white competitor.
“What is more concerning is that there are still very few people of colour across the sport as a whole,” Hamilton said in a statement. “In F1, our teams are much bigger than the athletes that front them, but representation is insufficient across every skill set — from the garage to the engineers in the factories and design departments.—AFP
