All Things Sports

A 7-time World Champion and statistically the greatest driver of all time, Lewis Hamilton is the ONLY black driver in Formula 1’s entire history! Now, there have been other black drivers to test cars in Formula 1, but Hamilton is the only one to actually participate in a full race. I do think that there is something funny about the only black F1 driver being who I consider to be the GOAT of the sport(sorry Schumacher), yet the amount of opportunity for black drivers has continued to remain the same. This begs the question however: why are there no other black drivers in Formula 1?

 Now the sport does not actively discriminate against black drivers, but when looking at the aspects of getting into the sport in the first place, it is not hard to see why. First and foremost: money. It is almost impossible to understate the role money has in the sport. Formula 1, like a lot of things, is entirely dependent on heavy amounts of money. From junior karting all the way up to the highest level of motorsport, money plays a huge role. Now due to structural discrimination, among other equally important factors, black people across the world have been statistically less likely to have higher amounts of money and thus, it is no surprise that they had trouble merely getting into it at the lowest level. While other drivers may have had breaks with sponsors(Sergio Perez for example), the system is still discriminating against black people across the world, and thus they have had less access to paths that could take them into Formula 1. 

But what about Lewis Hamilton, he made it? He did and it was without serious financial backing. His dad had to work multiple jobs and be his mechanic in order to support his karting career(the precursor to single-seat racing) and then when his talent was evident, he was signed by Mclaren’s junior program who provided the backing for his career until he left after 6 years of racing for them in Formula 1. However, a shocking fact has to be pointed out: not everyone is Lewis Hamilton(I know shocker). His story is truly 1 in a million and the fact of the matter is, someone should not have to have this kind of story to merely break into the sport. The opportunity has to be there and it just isn’t right now. But how do we solve it? Well I again urge you to look at the 7 time world champion, but for a different reason. He himself knows that this is a problem and with his activism both on and off track, he is trying to fix it. Off-track, he has set up