Lewis Hamilton targeted by racist abuse online after winning the British Grand Prix… with Mercedes star sent monkey and gorilla emojis following first lap crash with world championship leader Max Verstappen
- Lewis Hamilton received racist abuse online after winning the British Grand Prix
- Hamilton was involved in a crash with Max Verstappen in the first lap on Sunday
- Mercedes driver was sent messages that included gorilla and monkey emojis
- Hamilton has been a massive advocate of racial equality and increased diversity
Lewis Hamilton received racist abuse online just hours after winning the British Grand Prix in controversial fashion on Sunday at Silverstone.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton, 36, was given a ten second time penalty following a crash with Max Verstappen on the first lap which led to the latter being taken to hospital for precautionary checks.
After being clipped by Hamilton, world championship leader Verstappen, 23, hurtled into the tyre wall at 140mph in a rough incident.
Lewis Hamilton received racist abuse online following his victory at the British Grand Prix
Hamilton was abused after he was involved in a crash with Max Vestappen during the first lap
Hamilton received racist messages on Instagram with one user using a gorilla emoji (left)
Despite the incident, Hamilton responded by securing victory at the British Grand Prix for the eighth time, overtaking Charles Leclerc in the closing stages.
Yet following the race, Hamilton received messages on Instagram from his Sunday evening upload that included monkey emojis.
One user wrote: ‘I was his fan before this race! very bad… Sir Lewis Hamilton’ before adding a gorilla emoji, while another message used monkey emojis.
The abuse directed at Hamilton comes after England internationals Bukayo Saka, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford received racist abuse online after missing penalties in the Euro 2020 final against Italy.
Hamilton has frequently spoken about fighting racism and has pushed for more diversity in F1
Earlier in 2021, Hamilton was the first recipient of the Laureus Athlete Advocate of the Year award due to his involvement in the fight against racism.
The 36-year-old has frequently spoken about fighting racism and has pushed for increased diversity in Formula One.
Last year, Hamilton established the Hamilton Commission with the Royal Academy of Engineering, which is attempting to help more young people from black backgrounds to be employed in motorsport or in other engineering sectors.