What Has Haooenned To F1?

[ToraToraTora]

"taking the knee", perlease! I'd always loved the drivers for being mavericks! How did they allow themselves to be bullied into this. I've always been a huge fan of Hamilton, not any more. What a bunch of - colloquial term for cats -.

[ToraToraTora]

TCL: "What opportunities are there for non-white folk in competitive driving?" - Hamilton was not in the fold from birth, he was not from a racing family originally, he rose to the top of the sport by ability and work. If the sport is racist how did he do that?

[venator]

He's probably the greatest F1 driver ever, but how does that mean his opinion is more valuable than Joe Bloggs? If he said we must all go vegan like him, would anyone feel they had to follow suit?

[royfromaus]

Maybe he got a shot because he is actually mixed-raced?

[ABerrant]

Most F1 drivers are beneficiaries of a family lineage encompassing motor sports.

"... there have been 774 Formula One drivers so it would be interesting to know how many were not white."

Japanese - 20
Indian - 2
Malaysian - 2
Mauritian - 1
Indonesian - 1
Thai - 1

Total - 27 (3.5%)


Do we include some from the South American mixed-ethnicity/hispanic?

Brazilian - 31
Argentinian - 21
Uruguayan - 4
Colombian - 3
Venezuelan - 3
Chilean - 1

And what about Mexican - 6

[archibaldy]

It’s not just about ability or work. To progress in motorsport you need a lot of money for the cars, transporting them, etc. There is a high barrier to the elite levels and many drivers won’t make it due to lack of money. I’m not saying that’s racist but it’s as much about access to money from sponsorship and contacts as it is driving ability.

[sanmac]

TCL, what makes you think that there are barriers against them (Black people) in advancing in this sport? Would these be the same barriers preventing Chinese, Japanese, Inuit, Maori, First Nations People from participating and rising to the top? Perhaps there are no barriers...Maybe, perhaps it's just a lack of interest in the sport.

[ToraToraTora]

Hamilton came from a relatively poor broken home.

[THECORBYLOON]

"I'm merely stating the facts, motor sport cares only about speed"

Facts? You've not presented a single fact, let alone in the plural.

If it were only the speed that mattered, why are white folk so good at it, compared to other ethnicities?

[ToraToraTora]

I know about motor sport and believe me they want the fastest everything, irrespective of species let alone race.

[AZardoz]

Why is another group so fast at running?
https://definitivedose.com/the-greatest-sprinters-of-all-time/

[ToraToraTora]

"If it were only the speed that mattered, why are white folk so good at it, compared to other ethnicities? " - they just are, same as top athletes are usually not white. We have to accept that certain races are good at certain things. Why do you hand wringing types find that so difficult to grasp?

[THECORBYLOON]

ABBERANT, in Brazil for example, non-whites make up about 52% of the population but what percentage of the Brazilian drivers were non-white?

[ToraToraTora]

all the ones that are good enough TCL.

[THECORBYLOON]

"They just are" is not a fact and you seem to think that a constant repetition of a statement is all that is needed to support an argument.

Can you give ANY facts- not your personal opinion-to support your claim?

[ABerrant]

"...but what percentage of the Brazilian drivers were non-white?"

Unknown, which is why I posed the question of whether to include some from the subsequent list.

[venator]

there's a brilliant team sport in india called kabaddi

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabaddi

There are no white players. where is the massive international outcry?

[Mozz71]

The fact that several drivers declined to take the knee shows me that it was a completely voluntary act, which brings me to this...

Which is worse, deciding to take the knee, or being offended by people deciding to take the knee. The fact that some people seem to think that taking the knee is some sort of heinous, offensive act, says way more about them than it does about the drivers actually supporting a cause. At least LeClerc, Verstappen et al, went to Social Media to explain their reasons (quite justifiable reasons too) for not joining the others. If they had been on AB, they'd probably have just put a post up saying "I'm not racist, but..."

[ToraToraTora]

mozz: "The fact that several drivers declined to take the knee shows me that it was a completely voluntary act, which brings me to this... " - voluntary? my April, like in football you mean? Yeah technically "voluntary" but in practice, bullying. Just glad that some of the drivers had a pair.

[Mozz71]

//There are no white players. where is the massive international outcry?//

There are no whote faces in the Indian national cricket team either. Those disgusting, racist Indians.

[royfromaus]

I would think a simple statement like 'I can not support a movement that wants to dismantle capitalism' would suffice for a F1 driver.

Can I assume BLM shouldn't want multi millionaires supporting them?