© Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
In the last year Mercedes has done a lot to promote diversity in Formula 1, but Lewis Hamilton urges other teams to join in.
Not only did Mercedes ramp up their efforts to promote diversity within the team, they also launched the Mulberry STEM Academy, aimed at including more minorities in STEM projects. It’s something Lewis Hamilton is very proud of.
“Mercedes is now partnering with some of the schools in London and putting attention elsewhere, creating a bigger pool and a bigger opportunity for people to get into those STEM subjects that perhaps weren’t previously done,” the Briton explained.
“What I am not aware of is any other team doing that, not aware of any other team acknowledging that that is even an issue and those are the things I feel that need to change this year and it goes back to that accountability.
“We can all do more. A lot of these brands that we work with sell cars to all different backgrounds and make their money from people from the outside world. I feel like from inside, it needs to reflect the outside world.”
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Hamilton also gave his comments on drivers performing (or not performing) the ‘taking the knee’ gesture ahead of races, to support the fight for racial justice.
“In terms of the other drivers, I mean it is ultimately down to them as to what they decide to do.
“I think you saw last year, there was a mixture in terms of some of us taking the knee and some not, as opposed to some other sports where everyone was united together.
“I think again, it is down to choice, and education is a part of it. What I would like to see is just creating an opportunity for people.
“What we saw in Austria, for example. A young black girl, on the podium for the first time in 70 years. That created awareness.
“Young black girls, and girls in general, saw that as an opportunity to go into becoming an engineer and sparking those kinds of reactions,” concluded the seven-time champion.
