Jul.1 - Lewis Hamilton was behind Mercedes' livery switch from silver to black ahead of the re-starting 2020 season, his boss has admitted.

While some simply hailed the new paint job's visual appeal, it is actually a tip of the hat to the Black Lives Matter political movement.

"Lewis is very active in Black Lives Matter," team boss Toto Wolff, who is yet to reach a new deal with Hamilton for 2021 and beyond, told Kurier newspaper.

"We coordinated what we can do on the topic. He (Hamilton) called me about a month ago and said 'two Instagram posts is not enough'. Together, we gave birth to the idea of the black car," the Austrian added.

Wolff also told Der Standard newspaper: "The board of directors of Daimler and the sponsors immediately gave their support."

He denies that it is simply an empty symbolic gesture, insisting: "The right convictions are not enough if we remain silent.

"We therefore want to use our voice and our platform to campaign for respect and equality."

Wolff admitted that women and minorities are grossly under-represented at the title-winning team, and vowed to do something about it.

"We will not set quotas, but we will set goals," he said.

McLaren's Lando Norris, meanwhile, revealed that the drivers are considering 'taking a knee' to honour the Black Lives Matter movement in Austria.

"It will be discussed in the Grand Prix Drivers' Association after the drivers' briefing on Friday," he said.

"We will do whatever we can to show that we care and respect everyone."


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4 F1 Fan comments on “Wolff admits Hamilton behind black livery idea

  1. Ian Larman

    Pathetic. Racism has no place in F1 and Hamilton has dragged it in. The apalling BLM group wants to destroy capitalism - staggering that Mercedes are supporting it. Still, we all know who enjoyed a black Mercedes in Germany last century.

    Reply
  2. Ricky

    Hamilton is the most racist driver on the grid more so than any other driver of any colour or creed! disgusting! Keep racism out of F1!

    Reply
  3. Jadra

    No matter how hard we try to introduce racial equality we are going to fail as long as we see ourself as someone of a particular colour. Instead we need to perceive the true nature of man as spiritual being who is expressing pure love towards another human and all the rest of creation.And we certainly need to forgive those who are ignorant of the fact that we share our genes with those humans who lived and died long ago and that means we have common ancestry with all .As far as Mercedes pleasing Lewis and changing to black livery I am not sure will help anybody "fight" against ignorance and deception that blinded the humanity from the very beginning of our existence on this planet.It is time to open our eyes and see the truth!

    Reply
  4. John Mitchell

    New livery does look good but put off if BLM is the reason. Once again I say keep politics out of F1. If anyone says that BLM is not politics then I suggest you check who is in control of it. Marxist I understand. Lewis is my favourite F1 driver after Jim Clark. I was originally a Lotus fan from the 1960s but then swapped to McLaren much later before Lewis joined them. Moved to Mercedes when Lewis shifted and Ron Dennis gone. Perhaps it is time to go back to McLaren.

    Reply

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