Why Hamilton's 'stick to racing' critics are missing the point

Lewis Hamilton's criticism of Formula 1 "staying silent" on racial injustice prompted a response from several of his fellow drivers. But it also drew a predictable cut and paste response that diminishes the platform elite sports stars have

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Lewis Hamilton is rarely a man to shy away from addressing the bigger picture, proving his acute awareness of life outside of Formula 1.

He proved as much earlier this year in Australia, when he was the only F1 driver to speak up about the "shocking" decision to try and stage the race as the COVID-19 pandemic began to escalate. Less than 24 hours later, the race had been cancelled.

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Author Luke Smith

Luke Smith is Autosport’s Formula 1 reporter. Luke has been working in F1 as a journalist since 2013, initially alongside a History degree at University College London. Luke served as the lead F1 writer at American broadcaster NBC Sports from 2013-17 before spending two years as the F1 Editor for Crash.net. Luke joined Autosport for the 2020 season.

Luke is also a contributor to The New York Times for its F1 special reports, and has previously worked with Al Jazeera and CNBC, as well as hosting FIA press conferences. Outside of F1, Luke is a fan of sports and music, with an ever-growing vinyl collection, and has being bitten by the running bug in recent years. He also runs a surprisingly popular blog reviewing the often-terrible media centre coffee from his F1 travels.