Lewis Hamilton was one of the people who responded to former Formula 1 driver Ralf Schumacher’s announcement last weekend that he is in a same-sex relationship.
Once the former Formula 1 racer came out as gay, Lewis Hamilton praised the “positive message” that Ralf Schumacher had sent.
However, the seven-time Formula One champion demanded that more be done by the sport to make it a “comfortable place” for the LGBTQA+ community. Hamilton was responding to Schumacher’s revelation last Sunday that he was seeing someone of the same sex.
In doing so, the 49-year-old brother of Michael, the other seven-time champion in Formula One, became the only race winner and one of the very few openly gay drivers in the history of the sport. He still frequents the paddock in his capacity as a TV analyst for Sky Germany.
When asked about the news, Hamilton expressed his hope that it would inspire more people to take similar action. “Obviously, Schumacher has not felt comfortable to say it in the past,” he stated. It simply indicates that you can finally take the step and not be afraid in this day and age. It’s definitely nothing new.
“But there’s still a long way to go in the sport world. Declaring oneself inclusive is one thing; ensuring that people are at ease in the surroundings is quite another. To the best of my knowledge, he is among the first people to at least openly discuss the fact that this is a male-dominated field.
“While our team is very inclusive, I do believe that more needs to be done by the sport to improve people’s sense of comfort and welcome, especially for women who, as I understand, have not always received fair treatment. Thus, we must take further action.”
An F1 representative responded, saying: “Ralf’s announcement of this news is a very positive thing for the sport and for him. It demonstrates how inclusiveness and diversity have advanced significantly in F1, and he feels comfortable speaking out about his sexual orientation.
“While we still have a long way to go before everyone feels loved and accepted for who they are, we should all be pleased with the progress we have made. We wish to demonstrate to everyone the accessibility of our amazing sport.”
When asked how he would go about creating a more inclusive F1 paddock, Hamilton said, “I don’t have the answer. I am aware that the majority of the time, it is about having a dialogue with the important parties. It involves examining how information accessibility affects people who feel included or misengaged in the community.”
A representative for the Schumacher family stated that since the announcement, Ralf and his partner Etienne have received “overwhelming” amounts of supportive messages. The six-time Formula One race winner then posted a second social media update in which he thanked followers for their well-wishes and said he and his partner were “very happy.”
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