Charles Leclerc zegt dat hij weigert om voor de F1-races op de grid te knielen vanwege de politisering van raciale kwesties en de banden van de BLM-beweging met geweld. De Ferrari-coureur is één van de zeven coureurs die afgelopen weekend op Silverstone bleven staan. De andere zes coureurs die ook niet knielen zijn Max Verstappen, Kimi Raikkonen, Carlos Sainz, Daniil Kvyat, Antonio Giovinazzi en Kevin Magnussen.
Lewis Hamilton, die de Black Lives Matter-branding draagt terwijl hij knielt in plaats van de 'End Racism' tekst op de T-shirts van de andere coureurs, heeft gezegd dat hij coureurs zoals Leclerc wil overtuigen door 'meer gesprekken'.
De Ferrari-coureur heeft daar geen boodschap aan. Hij heeft zijn eigen mening en laat zich niet snel overtuigen. In gesprek met La Gazzetta dello Sport zegt Leclerc: "Ik ben tegen racisme. Ik vecht ertegen en ik ben blij dat de Formule 1 zijn platform gebruikt om de wereld de juiste positie te laten zien. Maar ik wil niet knielen omdat veel van de protesten die over de hele wereld plaatsvinden, vaak gewelddadig zijn."
"Ik accepteer geen enkele vorm van geweld. Ik vind het ook niet leuk dat politici deze protesten beginnen te gebruiken voor hun eigen doeleinden."
Leclerc zegt tevens dat hij zelf geen problemen heeft met Lewis Hamilton. De 22-jarige coureur: "Ik denk niet dat iemand de prestaties van Lewis naar beneden moet halen. Naar mijn mening is hij één van de beste coureurs in de geschiedenis van de Formule 1. Hij geeft altijd 100 procent en is psychologisch erg sterk. En in combinatie met Mercedes is het momenteel erg moeilijk om met hun te vechten."
pibedetorres on August 6th, 2020 at 15:43 UTC »
The full original interview in Italian has been published as a premium article that can only be accessed by subscribing to their paid service (link to the article ). Here you can find a mirror to that article, still in Italian. I can translate the part in question if anyone is interested:
Q: Even though you adhered the [drivers'] protest, you chose not to kneel on the race track in support to BLM...
Leclerc: I stand against racism, I fight it, and am very happy that F1 is using its platform to show the world which path is the correct one to take and what each of us must do during our lives: that is, treat everyone fairly, with no prejudices based on skin color. But I didn't want to do that gesture [the kneeling] because there have been many protests in the world that ended up getting associated/lumped together with cases of violent behavior, and I will never condone any act of violence. I also dislike when a civil protest is used/exploited by politicians. I wore the shirt [the one every driver was wearing during the kneeling] and I took that side [stood against racism]. That is the cause we stand up for: fighting against racism, nothing else. To be more clear, I believe in truth that racial discrimination is the biggest problem our world is facing right now. To still witness cases of racism in 2020 is simply absurd.
skumbagstacy on August 6th, 2020 at 10:54 UTC »
Its kinda infuriating that the whole discussion is now more focused on who's kneeling and who isnt. The media should put more effort into highlighting aspects which should be improved regarding diversity instead of sensationalizing the whole kneeling 'debate'.
1enox on August 6th, 2020 at 10:43 UTC »
Translation
Charles Leclerc says he refuses to kneel on the grid for F1 races due to the politicization of racial issues and the BLM movement's ties to violence. The Ferrari driver is one of seven drivers who stayed at Silverstone last weekend. The other six drivers who also do not kneel are Max Verstappen, Kimi Raikkonen, Carlos Sainz, Daniil Kvyat, Antonio Giovinazzi and Kevin Magnussen. Lewis Hamilton, who wears the Black Lives Matter branding while kneeling in place of the 'End Racism' text on the other drivers' T-shirts, has said he wants to convince drivers like Leclerc through 'more talks'.
The Ferrari driver is not interested in that. He has his own opinion and is not easily convinced. Talking to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Leclerc says: "I am against racism. I am fighting against it and I am happy that Formula 1 is using its platform to show the world the right position. But I don't want to kneel because a lot of the protests that take place all over the world are often violent. " "I don't accept any form of violence. I also don't like politicians starting to use these protests for their own ends."
No problem with Hamilton
Leclerc also says that he himself has no problems with Lewis Hamilton. The 22-year-old driver: "I don't think anyone should put down Lewis's performance. In my opinion, he is one of the best drivers in Formula 1 history. He always gives 100 percent and is very strong psychologically. And in combination with Mercedes it is very difficult to fight with them at the moment. "