Lewis Hamilton makes a charitable donation of €50,000 for missing last year’s FIA Gala to promote diversity in motorsport
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton broke Formula One rules last year when he failed to turn up for the FIA’s official end-of-season awards ceremony after losing the World Championship final to Max Verstappen.
On Thursday night, the Briton met with FIA President Mohammed bin Sulayem and spoke of a « good meeting » in the FIA press conference on Friday, saying it was about diversity in motorsport.
The seven-time world champion says he expected to be fined as a result of missing the FIA gala, but that it will be used to « help young people from underprivileged backgrounds to enter motorsport engineering ».
Bin Sulayem welcomes Hamilton’s decision
Already Hamilton has worked on a number of projects to improve diversity and inclusion in motorsport, including his own charity Ignite, the Hamilton Commission and Mercedes’ Accelerate 25 programme.
The FIA announced further details of the meeting between Hamilton and the FIA president on Friday evening. Among other things, it said Hamilton had already made a donation of €50,000, which will be used to help a student from an under-represented background receive an education in motorsport.
The FIA’s official statement says: « FIA President Mohammed bin Sulayem met with seven-time FIA Formula One World Champion Sir Lewis Hamilton yesterday [Thursday] ahead of the start of the 2022 season to discuss the work of FIA and key motorsport stakeholders to build greater diversity and inclusion in the motorsport industry. «
Hamilton shares impressions from the Hamilton Commission
In doing so, Hamilton shared some of his experiences from the Hamilton Commission report. A key aspect, he said, was making diversity and inclusion initiatives « accessible to underrepresented groups ».
« The FIA President highlighted the important groundwork done by the FIA in recent years, with projects such as FIA Girls on Track, and praised Hamilton’s involvement in projects such as Mission 44 and Ignite, » the FIA statement continues.
Bin Sulayem further praised the Mercedes driver for his decision to donate €50,000 to a student from a disadvantaged background and confirmed that the FIA and Hamilton will work with an independent panel throughout the process.
FIA president expects more sportsmanship from Hamilton
The statement ends by saying that Hamilton’s absence from the FIA Gala was discussed and that the seven-time world champion « recognises the importance of celebrating the year’s achievements with award winners from across motorsport ».
In addition, the FIA President « reminded Hamilton of his commitment to sportsmanship, particularly with regard to his status in motorsport. «
