This weekend’s British Grand Prix offers Lewis Hamilton the opportunity to make a statement on and off the track after several days in which attention was focused on the way Formula One deals with racism.
Hamilton indicated he can be among the frontrunners after setting the second-fastest time in Friday practice.
Hamilton’s Mercedes team has struggled this season but has reason to hope for an improvement at Silverstone, where the British driver has won eight times. Unlike recent street circuit races, the British track has a smooth surface that could reduce the Mercedes car’s tendency to bounce at speed, giving Hamilton back pain.
Hamilton said the team had done a “phenomenal” job of upgrading the car for this week’s race, in which he will be seeking his second consecutive podium after finishing third at the Canadian Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion also spoke this week about improving F1’s record on diversity and inclusion, drawing support from F1 and his peers after former champion Nelson Piquet described Hamilton as the only driver black from the grill, with a racial slur.
Championship leader Max Verstappen, who is in a relationship with Piquet’s daughter Kelly, said Thursday that the man he calls his “father-in-law” used a word that is “very, very offensive” but that he did not consider it Piquet was racist. He added that Piquet’s lifetime access to the paddock given to former F1 champions should not be revoked.
SAINZ RECORD THE BEST PRACTICE TIME
Carlos Sainz, who has not yet won a victory heading into his 150th race, was the fastest in practice.
In the second session, Sainz led Hamilton by 0.163 seconds and McLaren ‘s Lando Norris by 0.176 . Verstappen was fourth fastest and Sainz’s Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc fifth.
Sainz is yet to win a grand prix, although he has five podium finishes this season. He came close to doing it when he was narrowly second to Verstappen in Montreal.