Lewis Hamilton, F1 Driver or Activist?

[sycamore]

I think it is about time the Mercedes Team Principal took Hamilton aside and explained in very direct terms that you do not wave your "personal` agenda in the Worlds face ,standing under your Country`s Flag,as the National Anthems are played,making some political arm waving as well....F&*&^%g disgraceful.....

[NutLoose]

Originally Posted by sycamore

I think it is about time the Mercedes Team Principal took Hamilton aside and explained in very direct terms that you do not wave your "personal` agenda in the Worlds face ,standing under your Country`s Flag,as the National Anthems are played,making some political arm waving as well....F&*&^%g disgraceful.....

And that T-shirt, I wonder how the sponsors see their logos being covered up. Disgusting.

[LlamaFarmer]

It’s no longer about racism, it’s political.

F1 is a sport not a political forum. Imagine if any other drivers started pushing a political agenda that overtly.

[NutLoose]

Originally Posted by andrewn

Politics aside, LH is having a flawless season delivering a masterclass every weekend. You don't have to be a fanboy (or like his politics) to see that.

Totally agree, but the team needs to put a stop to the rest of it, especially as it’s now effecting sponsors. It’s sport not a political stage and needs nipping in the bud before it spreads. You get the feeling Merc are sh&t scared of upsetting their golden goose..

[alfaman]

F1

Originally Posted by NutLoose

totally agreed but the team needs to put a stop to the rest of it, especially as it’s now effecting sponsors.

Who says it's affecting the sponsors? For all you know they're fully in support.

[andrewn]

Originally Posted by NutLoose

totally agreed but the team needs to put a stop to the rest of it, especially as it’s now effecting sponsors.

He's an odd character, I think most would agree, but he's obviously got a real bee in his bonnet about this one and feels the need to be seen to be doing something. Most other sports people wouldn't take it to such extremes partly out of fear of upsetting the corporates, but in his case his brand (and ego!) is so big he can get away with pretty much anything, at least whilst he keeps winning.

Personally I think that, outside of F1, he's got very little of substance to fill his time with and the whole BLM thing is a way of filling that void. Could be very wrong of course

[NutLoose]

Originally Posted by alfaman

Who says it's affecting the sponsors? For all you know they're fully in support.

Well for one they are paying a fortune for their logos on his clothing something he has covered up...... I would also point out if he is so disgusted and fervently against the slave labour of the past, WTF is he doing driving for Mercedes who used Jewish slave labour during WW2? Ohhh wait he is being paid wads of cash so that part of the companies history of using Jewish slave labour appears not to bother him.

[clareprop]

You get the feeling Merc are sh&t scared of upsetting their golden goose..

Not really, they're selling the whole team to Ineos for next season. They came, they saw and they conquered..now they're leaving (apart from share ownership) because constantly winning is going to give them negative marketing.

WTF is he doing driving for Mercedes who used Jewish slave labour during WW2?

Well, you can play that game with lots of countries/teams/people if you want to go back far enough. He's protesting against current issues...and not really doing much different to other sportspeople. I guess if you really don't like it, you have to sell your shares, sponsorship ownership or TV subscription. I don't really care because I think he has a point..I also enjoy the 99.9% racing content.

[PDR1]

Originally Posted by alfaman

Who says it's affecting the sponsors? For all you know they're fully in support.

The problem with knee-jerk racists is that they automatically assume everyone else is like them. Mercedes and Petronas have made it clear they stand side by side with Lewis on these matters. They are actually PROUD to be associated with this campaign.

PDR

[alfaman]

Originally Posted by NutLoose

Well for one they are paying a fortune for their logos on his clothing something he has covered up...... I would also point out if he is so disgusted and fervently against the slave labour of the past, WTF is he doing driving for Mercedes who used Jewish slave labour during WW2? Ohhh wait he is being paid wads of cash so that part of the companies history of using Jewish slave labour appears not to bother him.

Suggest you take a closer look at what they've actually done & said, rather that what you think they might think. As to your view of Mercedes war record, it's well known that reparations were made for their part in the war, & the company also apologised for their part on it. Considering that none of the current employees could possibly have influenced the companies behaviour 80 years ago, your comment comes across as even more ill informed.

[PDR1]

Originally Posted by alfaman

your comment comes across as even more ill informed.

...or just plain racist.

Occam's razor leans towards the latter (simpler) explanation.

PDR

[PDR1]

Originally Posted by andrewn

Personally I think that, outside of F1, he's got very little of substance to fill his time

Well apart form his fashion business, his music promotion business, his environmental charity, his work with disadvantaged kids...in fact all that stuff which last year attracted criticism that he wasn't taking F1 seriously when he spent the week on these other things and flew into the SIngapore race at the last minute. People accused him of being an unprepared playboy dilettante - right up to the moment he put it that absolute blinder of a Q3 lap which was a second faster than everything before it in a car which all agreed was completely unsuited to the circuit. But hey, don't let a few facts get in the way of your complacent casual racism.

It's people like you who make his campaign necessary, you know.

PDR

[alfaman]

F1

Originally Posted by PDR1

...or just plain racist.

Occam's razor leans towards the latter (simpler) explanation.

PDR

Fair enough, perhaps I am over complicating things

[NutLoose]

Originally Posted by alfaman

Suggest you take a closer look at what they've actually done & said, rather that what you think they might think. As to your view of Mercedes war record, it's well known that reparations were made for their part in the war, & the company also apologised for their part on it. Considering that none of the current employees could possibly have influenced the companies behaviour 80 years ago, your comment comes across as even more ill informed.

That makes all right then, give some money and sweep it under the carpet... that doesn't alleviate them from their responsibily of the past nor bring back those Jewish slaves that died.

[Bergerie1]

FIA investigating:- https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/54152046

[jolihokistix]

The red pace car had a rainbow on it which could be construed as political, no?

The problem with Lewis’s T-shirt is that it assumes guilt and calls for summary justice, i.e. a sidestep around the legal process. A call to arrest Donald Trump for tax evasion would be in a similar vein, without waiting for the facts to be impartially considered.

[IBMJunkman]

I don’t watch the pre-race show as a fair amount of ‘woke’ stuff happens then. At race end when LH appeared with that long t-shirt I switched off.

Besides COVID problems the NFL and NBA have ‘woke’ problems in the States.

I don’t care about your politics or causes. Keep them out of your job.

[IBMJunkman]

This just in.

https://www.tmz.com/2020/09/13/lewis...reonna-taylor/

[Lancelot37]

Ban him from the next 5 races for bringing the sport down.

[Bergerie1]

L 37,

Certainly not. Just tell him to stop it. His heart is in the right place, his message is right, but F1 is not the right place to do it.