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Hamilton: I'd swap seventh title to bring about change in F1

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton would gladly trade a seventh Formula One world title to bring more inclusivity and diversity to the sport.

The world champion has been a leading voice in the fight for change amid the growing prominence of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Hamilton was one of several sporting figures to speak out against the death of George Floyd, an African-American man who was killed in police custody in Minneapolis in May.

The Briton has also taken a leading role in F1's End Racism campaign as part of the #WeRaceAsOne initiative.

Hamilton has made a strong start in his bid to claim a seventh title in F1, winning three of the first four races and will start second on the grid for the second of a Silverstone double header this weekend.

But ahead of the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix, Hamilton was asked by the F1 TV pre-race show if he would swap another title for more diversity, to which he replied: "For the change? Sure."

He added: "Winning championships is a great thing, and of course I'm going to push and see how far I can go with it, but I am the only black driver here, for whatever reason. I don't know why I was chosen to be able to do what I do in the car, and it wasn't somebody else.

"Things have happened along the way in my life, and I don't think it’s a coincidence that I'm in the position I'm in today. But there was a point where I was like, 'Jeez, just me being here is not enough. I've got to speak up. I could do more'.

"If I was to have retired a year ago, maybe nothing would have changed, I don't know. But what I love to see right now is that there is this awakening, there are people slowly [changing] – still not everyone, you still have a lot of these teams that are not saying anything, not holding themselves accountable, there’s still a lot of people [like that] out there – but it's finding a balance in how you engage those people, and yes, I hope in 10 years – I don't want it to be like 20 years' time, but I hope in a short space of time, I can see change.

"You're seeing people already [engaging], you're seeing Chase [Carey, F1 1 CEO] and the sport, you're seeing Jean [Todt, President of the FIA] who I've had a chat with, and who has hired a lady from Jamaica who's now working on the diversity campaign for the FIA.

"So you're seeing things but we need to stay on them and that's I guess part of my job being here, I think, and that means more to me, because if I'm able to look back and think, 'Yeah, I won championships but I was a part of helping shift the outlook of this sport and making it more accessible to people all over the world', I think that would be a great thing to be a part of."

When asked what he thought when people say he should remain apolitical, Hamilton said: "I don't ever listen to it. 

"Telling me to stop one thing is not going to stop me doing it, and I hope for everybody out there, nobody can tell you what to do ultimately.

"I respect people's opinions. The fact is, I live in this world – not just in this world [of F1], I live in the world and everybody's opinion matters. 

"The thing for me is that I say one thing and it travels very, very far. That’s an unbelievable power to have, that we have today in the media, being able to really push for change. I feel like I would be doing a disservice to people, to my family, to my followers if I didn't."

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