Lewis Hamilton has admitted that he thought twice about moving to Ferrari after several black footballers were racially abused in Italy.
Hamilton is the first and – to date only – black F1 driver and has faced horrifying racist abuse in his bid to reach the pinnacle of motorsport.
Hamilton was the only driver to wear a Black Lives Matter t-shirt in 2020Credit: AFP or licensors
The 40-year-old has been given a hero’s welcome since arriving in Maranello, with scenes akin to Michael Schumacher’s heyday.
However, the seven-time world champion has been acutely aware of several high-profile incidents involving black footballers in Italy.
Romelu Lukaku was subjected to monkey chants from a section of Juventus supporters in April 2023 – having faced similar abuse during his earlier years playing in Serie A.
Mario Balotelli has detailed the racism he was subjected to by Hellas Verona fans, while AC Milan’s players walked off the pitch in protest at chants directed at goalkeeper Mike Maignan in January 2024.
Cagliari escaped punishment for racist taunts towards Moise Kean, with Demba Ba later urging all black players to ditch Serie A.
Hamilton has now admitted that racist chanting at Italian matches ‘crossed his mind’ when leaving Mercedes for Ferrari after 12 years.
“I don’t want to dwell,” The seven-time world champion told TIME when asked about black players being racially abused in Italy.
“I’m not going to lie, it definitely crossed my mind when I was thinking about my decision. Like in so many things, it’s often such a small group of people that set that trend for many.
“I don’t think that it’s going to be a problem.”
Hamilton founded a charity ‘Mission 44’, to help people from a wider range of backgrounds enter motorsport in 2021.
Mike Maignan and his AC Milan teammates walked off the pitch after the goalkeeper was racially abusedCredit: Getty
Moise Kean was targeted by a section of Cagliari fans when he was at JuventusCredit: getty
Its development has been spearheaded by research done by the Hamilton Commission a year prior in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement.
The eponymous drivers’ charity had already worked with F1 on an informal basis before finalising an official collaboration last year.
“I did think, Oh my God, I’ve finally got a more diverse working environment that we’ve built over time,” Hamilton added.
“And now I’m going back to the beginning of my time with Mercedes, where it wasn’t diverse.”
Long before he agreed to move to the Prancing Horse, Hamilton called upon Ferrari to ‘hold themselves accountable’ and address a lack of diversity.
He suggested he’d closed the door on driving in red after sharing his belief that their values on key social issues weren’t aligned.
Hamilton will race for Ferrari for the first time in Australia next weekCredit: Getty
Hamilton was mobbed by Ferrari fans in FioranoCredit: Getty
“I’ve always been positive about Ferrari. I watched Michael (Schumacher) win there. I’ve always been a Ferrari fan,” he told GQ magazine in 2021.
“I remember one of the first cars I ever bought was a Ferrari. And I think it’s a hugely iconic team and brand, particularly.
“I think the team has, in my period of time… There have been things I’ve seen that I don’t necessarily feel mirror my values and my approach. However, it is a team that every driver, I think, has dreamed of what it would be like to sit in the red cockpit.
“No disrespect to them, but when I stop I want to work with Mercedes in helping them be even better in the outside world. You know, they’ll always have beautiful cars, but how can we be a more diverse industry?”
His comments drew a response from Ferrari chairman John Elkann, who insisted the Scuderia share the same desire for F1 to become more inclusive.
Last November, Ferrari indeed followed every other F1 team in signing a formal Diversity and Inclusion charter to enable anyone to access, contribute to and enjoy global motorsport.