Ralf Schumacher’s decision to make his homosexuality public is also a topic of discussion in the paddock in Hungary. The fight for more diversity really begins at the Hungaroring.
Lewis Hamilton is still the only black driver, and a woman in a regular cockpit is not even in the distant future. How diverse is Formula 1 these days? There are assurances and efforts, initiatives and projects. “It’s one thing to say that something is inclusive, it’s another to create an environment in which those affected feel free and comfortable,” says Lewis Hamilton.
Formula 1 is a space that is dominated by men. Still. “We can do 100 percent more,” emphasises the 39-year-old Brit. There is currently no female team boss in any of the ten racing teams, but there are a few women in important positions, such as Red Bull’s strategist Hannah Schmitz. “It was difficult to be one of the first women to sit at the command post,” the Brit once said.
Like Michael Schumacher, her compatriot Hamilton is the record world champion in the premier class of motorsport with seven titles, but he is also a pioneer in the fight against racism and for equality and diversity.
Hamilton looks back
Hamilton describes the fact that Michael’s brother Ralf Schumacher recently made his homosexuality public as a “positive message”. In 2007, he also raced against the now 49-year-old. It was Hamilton’s first and Ralf Schumacher’s last season in the racing series, which for many decades was characterized solely by the macho and male image. “He obviously didn’t feel comfortable saying it in the past,” said Hamilton.
The fact that this is no longer the case is also thanks to the Briton and his former rival Sebastian Vettel. “The change started here when I was on the grid with Seb and we fought against what the government was doing,” Hamilton recalled of the Hungarian Grand Prix three years ago.
Immediately before the race, Vettel wore a rainbow-colored T-shirt with the words “Same Love” on it during the Hungarian anthem – and he was warned for it. The race director at the time said that the drivers were given the opportunity to show their support for the official Formula 1 campaign “We race as one” before the start. However, the host country’s anthem should be respected by having the drivers wear their racing suits.
But it is precisely the moment when cameras are on the drivers and any statements have a wide reach. At the end of 2022, however, the world association also added a new article to the International Sports Code that prohibits the display of political messages without prior approval. Protest with the handbrake off, so to speak.
Ralf Schumacher criticised Hamilton for his protests
Both Vettel and Hamilton had taken a stand on a planned referendum against the rights of non-heterosexual people (LGBT) in Hungary. Vettel had said it was shameful for the country. Hamilton in particular had already used the global stage of Formula 1, which receives tens of millions of euros from the organizers for a race, to make political statements.
Hamilton also denounced human rights violations on the Formula 1 stage, something that seemed unthinkable for a long time and also brought him criticism from Ralf Schumacher. “His values are very important and he can represent them on Instagram and other social networks – the only question is why he always has to do it in a Mercedes suit and on the racetracks,” he said on Sport1 in November 2020. “Even if Ralf thought it was not a good idea to do such things, he may have changed his mind today,” Hamilton said in Budapest.
Ralf Schumacher has now paved the way for others with his coming out, praised the Briton. But there is still a long way to go for Formula 1, which has also enshrined a commitment to greater diversity and inclusion in its statutes and dedicated a separate story on its homepage to the reactions to Ralf Schumacher’s move.
Stereotypes of a male-dominated domain driven and controlled by testosterone are to be broken down. Despite the F1 Academy, a racing series that has been running since 2023 under the leadership of Susie Wolff, the prospects of a female driver on the starting grid of Formula 1, where there have been no so-called grid girls since 2018, remain slim. But there are also statistical reasons for this: there are simply many more boys than girls driving karts and in the end there are only 20 cockpits in Formula 1.
Source: Stern
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
