F1: Why was Lewis Hamilton wearing a rainbow helmet at Qatar Grand Prix 2021?

Reigning Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton is sporting a rainbow-coloured helmet during the ongoing Qatar Grand Prix weekend at the Losail circuit. Hamilton wears an LGBTQ flag on his helmet which includes black and brown stripes to honour queer communities of colour, including the light blue and pink colours in honour of the transgender community. The back of Hamilton’s helmet reads the quote, ‘We stand together’, and the sides have, ‘love is love’ written on it. The seven-time world champion sports the special helmet for the Qatar GP in support of equal rights and he was very vocal about the human rights issue while speaking to the media on Thursday.

In the drivers’ press conference, Hamilton faced questions about racing in Qatar for the first time, and about his take on the issues in the country related to human rights. As reported by GP Fans, replying to the question Hamilton said, “I do feel that we are aware there are issues in these places we are going to, as there are around the world but, of course, it is deemed to be one of the worst in this part of the world. As these sports go to these places, they are duty-bound to raise awareness of these issues”. 

'Equal rights is a serious issue,' says Lewis Hamilton

Adding to the answer, Hamilton said that places like Qatar need scrutiny and the media here needs to speak about this issue. Explaining the same in the press conference,  Hamilton added, “Equal rights is a serious issue. However, I am aware this place [Qatar] is trying to take steps. You cannot change overnight and there are things like a new reforming with the Kafala system that was in place a couple of years ago but there is still a long way to go. I just feel like if we are coming to these places, we need to be raising the profile of the situation."

Sebastian Vettel wore a pride t-shirt during the National Anthem ceremony at Hungarian GP

Along with Lewis Hamilton, the four-time F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel also sports the Progress Pride Flag on his helmet. During the Hungarian GP this year, the drivers wore the pride rainbow t-shirt in support of the LGBTQ+ community, and Vettel faced heat from the FIA for wearing the t-shirt during the National Anthem Ceremony. However, Vettel made his stance clear through an interview with BBC later, by saying he wanted to send a message.

Image: @mercedesamgf1