User:Natjman11/Formula One

Responsibility Towards Social Inequities in the Sport
Prior to the beginning of the 2020 Formula 1 World Championship, F1 announced and launched the #WeRaceAsOne initiative. The initiative primarily focuses on visible displays of solidarity in the fight against racism on Grand Prix Weekends, as well as the creation of a Formula 1 Task Force that will “listen to people from across the paddock…and make conclusions on the actions required to improve the diversity and opportunity in Formula 1 at all levels”. The move spurs from the growing questions about racism and global inequalities perpetuated by the sport. For example, the 70 year history of the World Championship has been dominated by European and white drivers, with the first (and only) Black driver winning the world championship in 2008.

In addition to organization-wide measures, individual teams have also acknowledged deficiencies in the sport’s cultural and political activism. During the 2020 season, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team conducted a study of its racial composition and found that approximately 95% of its workforce was white. From this revelation, the team changed the car’s livery to promote anti-racism messages, and also launched the Accelerate 25 programme. The program vows that approximately 25% of all new hires to the team will come from underrepresented minorities in the sport until 2025. While other teams have remained less vocal, the initiative taken by the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team is expected to serve as the impetus for similar moves taken by the other nine teams currently on the grid.

Finally, the 20 drivers on the grid have also stood in solidarity on multiple occasions in the fight against racism both on and off the track. Following the death of George Floyd in the summer of 2020, all twenty drivers wore “End Racism” shirts, and the majority took a knee during the pre-race formalities. In the year since, Lewis Hamilton has remained vocal in his pre-race attire, with other drivers occasionally wearing change-demanding clothing. Specifically, Sebastian Vettel sported a rainbow-colored shirt with the words “Same Love” ahead of the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix in an effort to bring awareness to Hungary's controversial legislation against the LGBTQ+ community.

Therefore, the future of Formula 1 looks to be paralleled by an increased attention to the lack of social equity in the sport at the organizational, team, and individual levels.