Hamilton sees F1 still has a long way to go after Ralf Schumacher comes out

In the week before the Hungarian Grand Prix, Ralf Schumacher publicly announced his relationship with a male partner. Lewis Hamilton has reflected on that announcement but says the sport still has a long way to go to be fully inclusive. The seven-time World Champion went on to highlight how F1 can take those next steps after seeing an inclusivity issue in Montreal.

Schumacher shared a photo of himself with his partner on Sunday. He made the announcement on social media after being in the relationship for two years. Hamilton has reflected on the news, and said "there's still a long way to go'.

"There's one thing saying that it's inclusive and there's another thing actually making sure that people feel comfortable in the environment. This is a male-dominated space, and as far as I know, he's one of the first to at least publicly be speaking in that respect. The sport does need to continue to do more to make people feel more comfortable and make women feel more welcome in this space because I know that not all have been treated well in this space. We have to do more of that," Hamilton said in Hungary.

How can F1 be more inclusive?

GPblog then asked Hamilton how F1 can take the next steps. "More often than not it is about conversation, it is about dialogue. It’s engaging in the community. You could do a questionnaire for every single person that's here, and just ask them honestly how they feel and what they feel that could be done, there's a lot that you could do," Hamilton said.

He then recalled an experiance during the Canadian Grand Prix weekend a few weeks ago. "We were in Montreal, and I remember coming across the bridge and there was a poor disabled guy with a disability similar to my brother. He needed the toilet and there's a cop standing by this portable loo. The cop said he couldn't go and use this toilet. I stopped and discussed it with the cop. I was like, please, this guy's got a long, long way to go.

"This guy shouldn't be having to walk across the bridge. There needs to be more accessibility for people with disabilities, and so in the moment, there's not a lot I could do. The cop still didn't let the guy use the bathroom, but then I would speak with Stefano and be like, hey, we want to speak to the organisers here on how we are creating better accessibility for people in wheelchairs because since Frank [Williams] has been here, have you seen any progress with that? I don't think so."

Hamilton has been a flagbearer for inclusivity issues within Formula 1 over recent years. This included him wearing a rainbow helmet for the Grands Prix in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and he supported the Black Lives Matter movement.