Red Bull Racing’s zero tolerance policy on racism has resulted in one of its employees being fired after writing racist messages to Lewis Hamilton after his accident with Max Verstappen at Silverstone.
Lewis hamilton has been widely criticized for becoming a champion of the fight against racism and inequality, but regardless of whether his way of doing it is correct, what is undeniable is that he has managed to put this social problem on the front page, promoting social awareness and various initiatives within Formula 1.
An example of this is what happened in Red bull racing this week and that the Anglo-Austrian team itself has confirmed through a spokesperson. Following the accident involving Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen at Silverstone, in which the former won the race after being penalized and the latter ended up receiving a medical check-up at the hospital, one of the Red Bull employees wrote racist messages directed at the driver of Mercedes.
“While rivalry is intense on the court, emotions should never cross the line into racist abuse”
This has led the team to dismiss said employee with immediate effect, although preserving his identity and affirming that he is not part of the team that travels to the circuits. “We condemn racist abuse of any kind and have a zero tolerance policy for racist behavior within our organization. The person in question is no longer an employee of Red Bull Racing », a spokesperson has confirmed.
After the accident, Lewis Hamilton denounced numerous messages with a racist component towards him, something that Red Bull Racing condemned through a statement:
“While we can be fierce rivals on the track, we are all united against racism. We condemn racist abuse of any kind towards our team, our competitors and our fans.
As a team, we are upset and saddened to witness the racist abuse Lewis suffered on social media after the collision with Max. There is never any excuse for it, there is certainly no place for it in our sport and those responsible must be held accountable.
Already at the Hungaroring, where the 11th round of the 2021 World Cup takes place this weekend, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner declared that “while the rivalry is intense on the track, emotions should never cross the line towards the racist abuse. We have a zero tolerance approach to racist behavior within our team and I personally firmly believe that those responsible for this type of abuse must be held accountable. We will continue to support the FIA and F1 to eradicate this from our sport.
Similarly, Lewis Hamilton appeared before the press in Hungary on Thursday, stating that he was “in awe” by the support shown by the F1 community, and that it was “The first time I was not alone”.