By Alan Baldwin
SILVERSTONE, England (Reuters) – Racing driver Lewis Hamilton urged comments by members of Formula One’s old guard not to receive a backlash after it drew attention from former series boss Bernie Ecclestone, 91, and three-times champion Nelson Beckett, over the attack. comments.
Ecclestone defended Russian President Vladimir Putin in a television interview on Thursday, saying he would “take a bullet” for him.
Pique, 69, apologized to seven-time world champion Hamilton this week for a racist reference to the Briton in an interview in November last year, which has recently resurfaced.
Hamilton, the only black driver in F1 history who talks a lot about issues of diversity and human rights, said he had struggled with the consequences of racism, negativity, tone of discrimination and “old narratives” for years.
“I don’t know why we still give these older voices a platform,” said the Englishman.
“They talk about our sport, we’re looking to go somewhere completely different, and that just doesn’t represent who we are today as a sport,” Hamilton told reporters at the UK Grand Prix.
“We are looking to grow in the United States and in other countries, in South Africa, to increase our audience. We need to look to the future and provide a more representative platform for today’s youth.”
“In the past few weeks, I don’t think there’s ever been a day when a senior, who has had nothing to do with our sport for decades, said negative things and tried to influence me,” he said.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin)
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