Lewis Hamilton has worked closely with Mercedes not only on a sporting level, but also on a social level – he wants to establish this at Ferrari from 2024
With the announcement that he would be driving for Ferrari in 2025, Lewis Hamilton caused a surprise at the beginning of the month, and not just because he has a long history of sporting success with Mercedes. It’s much more than that
For some time now, Hamilton and Mercedes have been committed to the joint fight for more diversity in sport and have been promoting the inclusion of underrepresented groups through various initiatives – and with success.
“I’m very proud of the work we’ve done at Mercedes. Since 2020, we have made really big strides in improving diversity in the team,” emphasizes Hamilton. “For example, we have a diverse workforce and that will continue after I leave, which I’m very proud of. “
Mercedes promotes diversity in its own team
In December 2020, the Mercedes team launched the “Accelerate 25” program, which is primarily aimed at becoming more inclusive. By the end of 2025, more than 25 percent of all new recruits should come from underrepresented groups. And the first success figures have already been achieved in the first few years.
Part of the program is the Mulberry STEM Academy, where STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (known as STEM subjects in Germany). It aims to inspire young talents from underrepresented groups to pursue careers in technology.
Hamilton visited the school in London just last December and was impressed by the work being done there. At the end of its third year, 127 students have already taken part in the program.
Black Silver Arrow as a sign against racism
In 2021, in addition to “Accelerate 25”, Hamilton and Mercedes launched “Ignite”, another charitable initiative to promote diversity and inclusion in the motorsport industry. The initiative is coordinated by Hamilton’s personal foundation “Mission 44”, which he launched in the same year.
The inclusion of dark-skinned people is particularly close to his heart, at least since the “Black Lives Matter” movement. As part of this, Mercedes even entered the 2020 Formula 1 season in an all-black design.
As you can see, Mercedes and Hamilton are leading the way in the fight for more diversity and equality, both in their own team and in Formula 1 and beyond. “And as I said, I’m proud of the team for working so hard on this,” affirms Hamilton.
Hamilton wants to continue social work at Ferrari
“I think we’re ahead of every other team in that respect, and there’s still a huge amount of work going on across the sport that I talk to Stefano about all the time. “
“I’m trying to work more with Formula 1. And of course, if you look at Ferrari, they have a lot of work to do, so I already made that a priority when I spoke to John (Elkann; Ferrari boss).”
In addition to the sporting challenge that Hamilton is looking for at Ferrari, he also wants to change the team from the inside out with his social issues, and he says he is meeting with goodwill: “They’re super excited to work on that as well.”
Against this backdrop, however, what will happen with the “Ignite” initiative, which was launched as a kind of joint venture between Mercedes and Hamilton’s “Mission 44” foundation? If the Briton no longer drives for Mercedes but for direct rival Ferrari, it is difficult to imagine a continuation.
