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Hill hits back at 'bullies' who target this F1 driver: "Miserable cowards!"
- Jeroen Immink
Former Formula One world champion Damon Hill has spoken out against racism and hate in Formula One. Lewis Hamilton has been open about how this has affected him in the past, and Guanyu Zhou recently went public with the shocking fact that he has been mistreated due to his race during his time in the sport. On Instagram, Hill makes himself heard, notably calling social media trolls "miserable cowards" for their posts.
Zhou and Hamilton have experienced racism
"It was pretty clear, when I signed my contract at Alfa Romeo (Sauber) in 2021, that I had to deal with a lot of racism from people," Zhou recently revealed. In doing so, the Chinese driver referred to the fact that Oliver Bearman - who is only 15th in the F2 championship - was more easily given the chance to prove himself in Formula 1. Zhou, who is the first-ever Chinese F1 driver, believes that there is prejudice against Asian drivers.
Hamilton - who has always been outspoken politically - also claimed to have been treated differently due to his race. In doing so, the Englishman was critical of Dr Helmut Marko, who claimed that Sergio Perez's occasional fluctuations in form were due to his South American heritage. "This shows how much work there is still to do. Many people are working in the background to counter this, but it is difficult to move forward when people at the top of the sport have such a way of thinking. I'm honestly not even surprised," Hamilton revealed.
Hill supports under fire Zhou
Meanwhile, 1996 Williams world champion Hill has spoken out. "Abuse is enabled by social media. Most of those doing the abuse are miserable cowards who would not dare say such things to one's face. To pick on a young person is also bullying. I hate bullies. But sadly there is always preference in sport," Hill revealed.
Hill also praised Zhou, who might be in his third and last F1 season. "It is too early to recognise it, but Zhou, you have left your mark. Don't despair. It will all make sense eventually." Hill added.
This article was written in collaboration with Toby Nixon
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