Hamilton blasts ‘Ignorant’ Ecclestone over ‘Black racism’ row

Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton labelled Bernie Ecclestone as “ignorant and uneducated” on Friday after the former F1 supremo claimed that “black people are sometimes more racist than white”.

Ecclestone, who was F1 supremo for four decades, made the damning statement when asked to comment on Hamilton’s recent anti-racism initiatives.

You can read the interview here.

And Hamilton, the only black driver on the grid, has hit back at Ecclestone.

“Bernie is out of the sport and of a different generation but this is exactly what is wrong – ignorant and uneducated comments which show how far we as a society need to go before real equality can happen,” Hamilton wrote on Instagram.

“If someone who has run the sport for decades has such a lack of understanding of the deep-rooted issues we as black people deal with every day, how can we expect all the people who work under him to understand?

“It starts at the top.”

F1, which has come under fire from Hamilton for its lack of diversity, distanced itself from Ecclestone’s remarks.

“At a time when unity is needed to tackle racism and inequality, we completely disagree with Bernie Ecclestone’s comments that have no place in Formula 1 or society,” it said in a statement.

“Mr Ecclestone has played no role in Formula 1 since he left our organisation in 2017, his title Chairman Emeritus, being honourific, expired in January 2020.”