Lewis Hamilton: Victory in the Face of Racism
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In June 2007, Lewis Hamilton made history by becoming the first black driver to win a Formula 1 race. A little more than a year later Hamilton drove his way into the history books again in dramatic style. Hamilton’s last gasp win in the final race of the season in Brazil won him his first Formula 1 Driver’s Championship. Hamilton’s win shocked the F1 world and delighted fans in his home country of England.
But for some fans Hamilton’s victory was not met with joy. Fans in Spain were especially bitter with Hamilton’s victory because of his feud with Spanish driver and former McLaren teammate, Fernando Alonso.
Hamilton was unhappy because he felt that the McLaren team did not respect him and he was only there to support 2 time champion Alonso. The feud continued throughout the 2007 season and at the end of the season, Alonso left McLaren. After Alonso left, his career has dipped slightly, finishing 5th in 2008 while Hamilton’s stock has risen to the very top winning the championship in 2008. At the Spanish Grand Prix earlier this year Hamilton was abused with racist jeers by many Spaniards who were unhappy with Hamilton for fighting with their golden boy. Fans in Spain wore black face paint and black wigs, these fans were also wearing t-shirts that said “Hamilton’s Family.”
The incident caused uproar in the F1 world which had never faced such racism before. Racism at sporting events in Spain however is not a new thing. Racism at soccer games throughout Spain is very common where some black players are met with monkey chants and bananas.
Before the final race of the year in Brazil a website surfaced in which fans could sprinkle nails on an imaginary track so that Hamilton’s tire would burst and he would not win the race. The website’s comments page displayed hundreds of racist responses. Both racist incidents were made worse by McLaren chief and multi-billionaire Bernie Ecclestone who played down the incidents. Ecclestone commented that the incidents were a joke and were blown out of proportion. When Ecclestone’s comments were attacked by anti-racist groups he tried to make up for his gaffe by stating that when he said the word “joke” he meant it to mean that the racist fans were clowns. Hamilton was not pleased with Ecclestone and when interviewed stated that he didn’t think the racist behavior of the fans in Spain was a joke at all. But Hamilton did not let the attacks affect him and he continued to dominate as the season progressed.
It is quite remarkable that Hamilton, still only 23 years old could drive the way he did this season with all of the distractions facing him. Many men would have crumbled when faced with such adversity. Hamilton’s middle name is Carl named after American sprinter Carl Lewis. Lewis was and still is an icon and a role model for African Americans and Hamilton is following the footsteps of the man he was named after. Racism can occur anywhere at any time and covering it up by saying that there is no racism in a certain sport is not a solution. Lewis Hamilton like many others before him has faced the challenge of racism and come out on top. We must all look to people like Hamilton for inspiration in our fight to eradicate racism not just from sports but from all aspects of society.
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[...] IMAGINE 2050 placed an interesting blog post on Lewis Hamilton: Victory in the Face of RacismHere’s a brief overviewRacism at sporting events in Spain however is not a new thing….Racism can occur anywhere at any time and covering it up by saying that there is no racism in a certain sport is not a solution….We must all look to people like Hamilton for inspiration in our fight to eradicate racism not just from sports but from all aspects of society…. [...]