Lewis Hamilton faces FIA investigation for wearing ‘political’ shirt in honour of Breonna Taylor – an African-American woman who was fatally shot by police officers earlier this year
Lewis Hamilton faces an FIA investigation for wearing a ‘political’ T-shirt at Sunday’s Tuscan Grand Prix.
The world champion sported the slogan, ‘Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor’, referring to a 26-year-old medical technician in Louisville, Kentucky, who was fatally shot after her boyfriend opened fire on police during a drugs search at their house on March 13.
Hamilton wore the shirt during the ‘taking a knee’ ceremony and on the podium as God Save the Queen played to celebrate his 90th career win.
Lewis Hamilton stood on the Mugello podium wearing a shirt calling for the arrest of police officers following the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor
Hamilton had earlier worn the shirt in the build up to the Tuscan Grand Prix in Italy on Sunday
The Kentucky Attorney General is still investigating the killing, which has led to riots in America, so Hamilton’s intervention is seen by several senior F1 figures as being potentially ‘political’.
FIA statutes forbid political statements of any kind.
Hamilton could be fined, with one official privately indicating to Sportsmail the Mercedes man had ‘crossed a line’.
The FIA and the sport’s owners Liberty Media have previously tried hard to work with him on his anti-racism fight.
The world champion took victory around Mugello, marking his 90th in his Formula One career
Having also worn the shirt on the grid prior to the race Hamilton paid tribute to the emergency medical technician in his post-race interview.
There he admitted his race was tough following a chaotic GP at Mugello that saw three race starts following two red flag incidents following major crashes.
‘It was like three races in one day,’ he said after the race. ‘Just incredibly tough. We had a difficult start.
‘The heat and keeping Valtteri (Bottas) behind, who has been quick all weekend, was not easy. I was behind at the beginning. Total focus was needed for the restarts. It was really, really hard.
Hamilton is now just one win shy of Michael Schumacher’s all-time record in the sport
‘Keeping that over one-second gap was crucial as I didn’t want them [race rivals] to have DRS on that 1000m straight. Justice for Breonna Taylor.’
Hamilton now heads to Russia in two weeks time looking to equal Michael Schumacher’s Formula One record of 91 victories.
Should the world champion taste success again in Sochi, he could then break the German’s record at the following race in his homeland at the German Grand Prix held at the Nurburgring.