After British Grand Prix incident, Red Bull Racing defends Hamilton vs. racism

Red Bull Racing has condemned the racist comments Mercedes-AMG driver Lewis Hamilton received on social media, following his in-race collision with Max Verstappen and his Red Bull at the Formula 1 British Grand Prix on Sunday. 

The Red Bull team released a statement on its social media pages which read: "While we may be fierce rivals on track, we are all united against racism. We condemn racist abuse of any kind towards our team, our competitors, and our fans." 

The team added that "there is certainly no place for it in our sport and those responsible should be held accountable." 

In the first lap of the British Grand Prix in Silverstone, Hamilton and Verstappen battled hard for the lead.

On the blast down to Copse corner, Hamilton managed to get ahead of his arch rival. Then, as he went for the inside of the corner, the Dutch driver went alongside the seven-time world champion in that right-hander. 

However, doing so led to Verstappen to clip Hamilton's left front wheel. Verstappen spun and smashed into the barriers on the outside of the corner at high speed. He was taken to the hospital and was released as he didn't suffer any major injuries. 

The incident was investigated by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), and it found that Hamilton was to blame, handing him a 10-second time penalty. Hamilton was able to make up for the penalty throughout the race to win the British GP. 

Earlier, Hamilton had set up the Hamilton Commission, an initiative that aims to increase representation of Black people in UK motorsports. Hamilton is considered by F1 as its first person of color to dominate the sport. 

F1 itself, along with teams AlphaTauri, Alpine, Aston Martin, McLaren, and Williams have also released their statements against the racist taunts. 

Photos from Formula 1 and Red Bull Racing

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