Hamilton: 'A team performs better when there is more diversity'

In an interview set up by Swiss bank UBS, the Brit explains why he is speaking out and continuing tirelessly with his fight to create equal opportunities in Formula 1: “I think partly it’s ingrained in who I am. I’ve never been good at adhering to kind of rules. If someone tells me that I can’t do something that I would always be about proving them wrong.”

Hamilton considers his position in Formula 1 as the top of the pyramid. He is among the 20 drivers on the F1 grid and has won several world championships. But, he also sees that there are almost no people like him in the sport, black people. So, the higher you get in that pyramid, the less diversity. That applies not only to drivers but also to teams.

Changes

“My goal is really to change that in the future. I think a diverse team has been proven to be better for an organization. It’s better for idea creation, creativity, and it shows that there’s better performance for a team when it’s more diverse,” Hamilton says.

To create that diversity in the sport, the younger generation needs to be able to see that everyone has an equal opportunity of being able to drive or work there, regardless of skin colour or ethnicity. Hamilton explains that that is not really the case right now. 

Mercedes

The world champion does have good things to say about his team Mercedes. He indicates that they listen to him and support his goals, they had previously undergone training on diversity. Mercedes has now even instituted initiatives to raise the diversity percentage within the team from three percent to twenty-five percent within five years.