Art of Gears
Fansided

There’s No Room For Hate In Motorsports

By David Castro

NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JULY 18: Race winner Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP celebrates in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain at Silverstone on July 18, 2021 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)
NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JULY 18: Race winner Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP celebrates in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain at Silverstone on July 18, 2021 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images) /
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Over the weekend seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton was involved in a racing incident on the first lap of the British Grand Prix that sent Max Verstappen off the track and into a fence.

Ultimately Verstappen was released from the hospital and given a clean bill of health. Hamilton won the race, despite receiving a 10-second penalty from the racing stewards.

It was a terrible crash and luckily Verstappen was not injured after a 51g impact into the tire barrier. I don’t think Hamilton intentionally knocked Verstappen out of the race, I consider this aggressive driving and please keep in mind that I am a Red Bull F1 fan.

If you haven’t seen the incident the video is above and you can develop your own opinion on who is to blame.

But who is at fault for this crash is not the point of this article.

The aftermath of the incident and the hurricane of racism directed towards Hamilton social is appalling, hateful and has no place in motorsports or society. We have a right to express ourselves and that should never be taken away, but you don’t have to be hate filled a**hole when you do it.

Keep it civil, keep it respectful. Don’t be a racist.

NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – JULY 18: Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing prepares to drive on the grid before the F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain at Silverstone on July 18, 2021 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – JULY 18: Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing prepares to drive on the grid before the F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain at Silverstone on July 18, 2021 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) /

These seem like simple notions, but apparently civility goes out the window on social media because you can be anonymous online and post without repercussions. It’s a bit tougher to be a racist punk to someone if they’re standing in front of you.

Was I mad that Verstappen got knocked out of the British Grand Prix and his lead in the F1 championship evaporated? Well, yeah, I’m a Red Bull F1 fan and it’s been a minute since they’ve won a world title and this season Verstappen is looking great.

With that said, I do not feel that it is necessary to attack Hamilton based on an incident that spoiled someone’s day. We need to always keep in mind that we are watching a game, its results only matter to the fans and people involved. There aren’t a ton of real world issues based on the results of car race in England.

More from Art of Gears

Ultimately there are no great repercussions if your team loses, I am going through that today after my beloved Phoenix Suns lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA finals on Tuesday night. Yeah it sucks but the sun rose this morning and I will go about my day. What I won’t do is attack Chris Paul on Twitter.

It’s not hard to treat people with respect. It’s not hard to be civil. Don’t be a jerk if your driver loses a controversial race, and most importantly drop the hate.

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