Top Gear star Chris Harris, 45, shared his thoughts about the Austrian Grand Prix today, in which British champion Lewis Hamilton, 35, is currently competing.
The car enthusiast seemingly referenced those who may have felt uncomfortable kneeling at the racing competition today, in light of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen were among the six drivers who chose to stand as Lewis and other drivers took the knee ahead of the race today.
Following this, Chris tweeted: “Slippery slope when people are told that unless they perform a specific gesture they are not acknowledging a problem or respectful of a situation.
“Have to respect the rights of the individual.”
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Speaking in yesterday’s FIA press conference, he said: “In the meeting I acknowledged to a lot of the drivers that obviously there was an interpretation of a message that I posted asking for people to speak up and their silence, and just saying thank you for those who have said something on their social media platforms, because they’ve got a great voice, a great platform, and then encouraging the others that haven’t to say something.
“I just described the scenario that silence is really complicit. There still is some silence in some cases.
“But I think it’s also a part of a dialogue with people trying to understand because I think there are still people that don’t fully understand exactly what is happening and what are the reasons for these protests.
“So I continue to try and be that guy to try to influence as many people as I can with it.”
Yesterday, Lewis praised Finnish racing driver Valtteri Bottas, who was pictured wearing a helmet with the words “Stronger together” emblazoned on the back.
In view of his 17 million followers, he wrote: “Great job by the team today and this man here.
“Look at the back of his helmet, this is a sign showing all hands together no matter your colour which I really respect. Let’s hope for a great race tomorrow #AustrianGP #F1.”
