Mercedes boss calls for 'real commitment' and 'real actions' to tackle F1 racism issues instead of just social media condemnation

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has urged F1 and all competing teams to commit to real change and not just pay lip service when it comes to tackling racism and discrimination in the sport.

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton was on the receiving end of derogatory racist remarks from former Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet. F1 and multiple teams and drivers have since come out in solidarity with the seven-time world champion.

Their condemnation of Piquet's actions appears to be half-measured in the battle to eradicate discrimination in the sport in particular and society in general.

Speaking in an interview with ITV in the UK ahead of the 2022 F1 British GP, Toto Wolff highlighted what his wife Susie Wolff witnessed during her time with Hamilton in karting. He said:

“I know from experiences from my wife who raced with him that he was literally called all the words you don’t want to hear today. That has been part of his upbringing, that is very much his scars and that’s why a robust answer and a robust position is important. I would very much hope that teams don’t remain silent but actually follow. Not only follow with a few Instagram posts but also follow up with real commitment, with real actions and with real funding.”

Mercedes has been openly vocal about the need for inclusion in the sport. Silver Arrows recently announced the first grants of the Ignite Partnership, set up in conjunction with Lewis Hamilton and the Hamilton Commission a year ago.

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"We're putting our money where our mouth is" - Lewis Hamilton speaks on the impact of Mercedes' Ignite Partnership

Lewis Hamilton is proud of all the work being done by Mercedes to make F1 more inclusive as it moves forward in the future.

Speaking to commemorate the first grants from their Ignite Partnership clearing at a press conference ahead of the 2022 F1 British GP, the 37-year-old said:

“Very proud of the work that we are doing as a team. Basically, when I sat down with Toto [Wolff] a year ago I said that I don't want to just be a driver for the team anymore, I feel it’s important that we start looking to what we’re doing both inside, but also outside of the sport.”

Hamilton continued:

“And so part of the contract was commitment from them and commitment from myself financially to put into Ignite, and to work on how…With the work that I did with the Hamilton Commission, working on seeing how we can get more young girls involved in our sport, and just working on how we can, for example, one of the things that we’re working on is having 10 Black students given scholarships for motorsport. And not only that, once they graduate, have a role, either with us in our team, but also within the sport.”

The Mercedes driver went on to add:

“I think we’re just living in a time where there’s been a lot of people that have said they’re supportive through these last couple of years, but a lot of [it is] lip service, and we are not doing that. We’re actually about action. We’re putting our money where our mouth is. So yeah, I’m really proud. I think we need to get everyone naturally on board to do something, because we can’t do it alone.”

The Briton will be hoping to put on a good show for all the Mercedes fans at Silverstone this weekend after strong performances in all three free practice sessions so far. Catch Lewis Hamilton next at the British GP Qualifying on July 2, 2022.