BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — The FIA is set to launch a worldwide anti-racism campaign. Circuits, teams and drivers will be asked to back the ‘Racing Against Racism’ campaign, and the teams are already pledging their support.
It will officially kick off at the Spanish Grand Prix in April at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya where McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton was the subject of racist abuse at a test earlier this month.
It should be noted that when Hamilton returned to Spain to test at Jerez last week there was no repeat of the Barcelona incidents.
“F-1 is a global, multi-cultural sport and has never encountered such scenes before and will not tolerate them in future,” an FIA spokesperson told Reuters. “International motorsport can reach a huge global audience to send out positive messages of racial and sporting equality. We will be encouraging all those involved in motorsports to support our new campaign, from recent world champions to the next generation of potential champions at the grass roots of our sport.”
Bernie Ecclestone, however, worries that the FIA campaign could have a negative effect.
“All it does is give attention to people who want attention,” he told BBC radio. “I don’t think they’re fans, and I don’t think they were supporting (Fernando) Alonso in particular,” he said. “They just like to abuse people.”
Ecclestone believes that the incidents in Barcelona were a one off.