Lewis Hamilton has clarified his position on Andretti’s Formula One plans following qualifying in Qatar, saying there is an “opportunity for real impact” by ensuring any new team places an emphasis on diversity.
After Hamilton said on Thursday in Qatar he thought adding an 11th team could be “great” for F1, he took to Twitter to clarify he was not supporting Andretti in particular.
Asked to clarify his position on Friday, Hamilton said: “It wasn’t that I support Andretti. I think from a driver’s perspective, it’s exciting to potentially see more cars.”
He then stressed the need for diversity in any new organization, suggesting it is part of F1’s criteria and process when considering additions to the grid.
“We have over 2,000 people in our team, so that’s a huge amount of jobs,” Hamilton said. “We have to make sure that the criteria, which is quite strict, is really respected. I feel like we need to amend the criteria actually, and make sure that there’s an opportunity for real impact, making sure that if there is a new team, they have to be diverse.
“They have to, you know, perhaps create an opportunity for a female driver to come through. And it has to be diverse from the top down.
“At the moment, it’s all white owners, and there’s a real lack of diversity from the top down. It’s all male. And that needs to change. That’s my thought.”
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