Hamilton's father opposed to F1 restart

Jun.4 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton’s father is arguing that Formula 1 should not get back to racing in July.

Six-time world champion Hamilton himself has been in the headlines this week after chastising the “white-dominated sport” for staying silent amid the George Floyd protests.

His boss, Toto Wolff, says he has learned about identity politics from the 35-year-old.

“He asked me once ‘Have you ever had the active thought that you are white?’ and I said ‘No, actually I’ve never thought about it’. He said ‘Well I need to think about it every day’,” Wolff told reporters on Wednesday.

Even former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone is a supporter, telling AFP news agency that Hamilton talking about politics “is a good thing”.

Now, Hamilton’s father and former manager Anthony has entered the fray, arguing that Formula 1 should not get back to racing while the coronavirus is still active.

“We should have the patience and respect to say let’s wait till the number of new coronavirus cases is down to zero so the key workers can go home, relax and they too can enjoy watching sport,” he told F1 business journalist Christian Sylt.

Hamilton snr also told ITV that he may not even watch his son race his Mercedes in July when the first ‘ghost races’ kick off in Austria.

“It would make me feel extremely disingenuous to celebrate watching Lewis racing, or celebrating on the podium. I wouldn’t particularly want to be watching the TV and cheering while thousands of people are dying from a virus,” he said.