Reigning Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton says he feels “completely overcome with rage” at the racial injustice present in society.

Hamilton has regularly used his social media platforms to voice his perspective on global matters and on Sunday expressed his view on racial inequality.

Some companies have adopted a social media blackout today (Tuesday) in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The situation has grown in recent days with protests held in the United States, and in other cities across the world, following the death in police custody of unarmed black man George Floyd.

Writing on Instagram, Hamilton posted: “This past week has been so dark. I have failed to keep hold of my emotions. I have felt so much anger, sadness and disbelief in what my eyes have seen.

“I am completely overcome with rage at the sight of such blatant disregard for the lives of our people.

“The injustice that we are seeing our brothers and sisters face all over the world time and time again is disgusting, and MUST stop.

“So many people seem surprised, but to us unfortunately, it is not surprising. Those of us who are black, brown or in between, see it everyday and should not have to feel as though we were born guilty, don’t belong, or fear for our lives based on the colour of our skin.

“Will Smith said it best, racism is not getting worse, it’s being filmed. Only now that the world is so well equipped with cameras has this issue been able to come to light in such a big way.

“It is only when there are riots and screams for justice that the powers that be cave in and do something, but by then it is far too late and not enough has been done.

“It took hundreds of thousands of peoples [sic] complaints and buildings to burn before officials reacted and decided to arrest Derek Chauvin for murder, and that is sad.

“Unfortunately, America is not the only place where racism lives and we continue to fail as humans when we cannot stand up for what is right.

“Please do not sit in silence, no matter the colour of your skin. Black Lives Matter.”

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Mercedes has thrown its support behind Lewis Hamilton, and has emphasised the importance of tolerance, in the midst of ongoing protests regarding racism.

Several protests have taken place in the United States, which have spread to other parts of the world, after the death in police custody of George Floyd, an unarmed black man.

Hamilton, who has regularly used his social media platforms to voice views on global affairs, expressed his support for the protests, and decried the silence from other sectors of the motorsport industry.

On Monday morning several of his contemporaries have posted messages of support on social media.

Mercedes, in response to Hamilton’s view, wrote: “We stand with you, Lewis. Tolerance is an elementary principle of our team and we are enriched by diversity in all its forms.

“We welcome and encourage people from all races, cultures, religions, philosophies and lifestyles, and condemn every form of discrimination as we work together to drive change forward.

“We are deeply saddened by the recent developments and hope for a de-escalation soon.”

Hamilton has been affiliated with Mercedes throughout his single-seater career and has raced for the manufacturer in Formula 1 since 2013.

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Lewis Hamilton says the cancellation of the Australian Grand Prix at such short notice was “a shock to the system”, and revealed how he has been keeping busy in lockdown.

The Formula 1 community travelled to Australia for the season-opening round in mid-March but the event was abandoned just two hours before practice due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It means Formula 1 drivers have not raced since last year’s curtain closer in Abu Dhabi, on December 1, and face a prolonged wait until the planned revised first round in Austria, on July 5.

“It’s not that it’s frustrating, I think it was a real shock to the system,” Hamilton said during a video interview produced by Mercedes.

“Obviously on that Thursday as I had commented my opinion on whether we have been there and then to wake up the next day, honestly with excitement that I’m going to be getting in the car and then to hear we’re not going to be going to the track, it was very surreal and wasn’t quite sure whether it was going to happen.

“You miss practice one and then practice two went, and qualifying went, but I stayed there through the weekend.

“It was tough, because it’s my 14th year, and every year I know how to get straight into the zone, I know what preparation means or how to be there and ready for that first race, so that we start off better than ever.

“Each year you’re refining that, to try and be better each year and start on the right foot… and we didn’t get to race.”

Hamilton also revealed that in addition to maintaining fitness levels, and linking up with some drivers on gaming platforms, he has turned his attention to expanding his vocabulary.

“I’ve always wanted to learn a language and I still don’t know any other language, it’s embarrassing, and I feel it’s probably similar for other people,” he said.

“I aced French at school, the only thing I aced, so going on this online course, the thing is it’s a six-week course and you’re supposed to do half an hour a day, and when I do things I do them to the extreme so I sat down and did one week in two hours basically, just doing one week a day!

“So I was already at like week four by the fourth day and my mind I was so stressed, and wasn’t enjoying it, so then I stopped, and tried to get back into it!”

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Reigning World Champion Lewis Hamilton says the lack of fans at Formula 1 races in 2020 will make the atmosphere feel “worse than a test day”, but is eager to get back to racing.

Formula 1 is intending to begin its 2020 season in Austria in July, with all events through to that point either postponed or cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

But when racing resumes it will do so behind closed doors, with circuits in Austria, Britain, Hungary and Spain having confirmed their grands prix, if they go ahead, will take place without spectators.

“It gave me a really empty feeling as the fans are really what make that race,” Hamilton said on the notion of a British Grand Prix without fans.

“Around the world all the races we go to the more fans the more atmosphere you have, like Silverstone, Monza, it’ll be very empty.

“But what’s great is I get messages from people around the world who are struggling with this period and they’re not getting to watch sport and it shows how significant sport is in people’s lives. It brings us all together, it’s so exciting and captivating.

“I don’t know how exciting it’ll be for people watching on TV, it’ll be better than nothing, but for us it will be like a test day, probably even worse than a test day in a sense.

“On a test day there’s not a huge amount of people who come to watch but there’s still some, but you’ll have nobody in the crowd and you’ll just see empty seats when you drive down.

“But racing is racing, and I don’t think have had enough time to truly unleash the potential of our cars so I’m exciting to get back in. I really, really do miss it.”

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Mercedes’ technical chief James Allison has praised Lewis Hamilton’s sporting integrity and says the World Champion has an “utterly unblemished record.”

Hamilton has claimed six world titles and 84 wins since making his debut in 2007 – second only to Michael Schumacher on the all-time list.

Allison joined Hamilton at Mercedes at the start of 2017, taking on the role as Technical Director, following previous spells at Benetton, Renault and Ferrari.

Mercedes has maintained its unbeaten spell during Allison’s time at the helm of the technical team, with Hamilton claiming the Drivers’ title in each season.

“I was brought up in a ‘Forces’ household, my father was in the RAF [Royal Air Force] and integrity is placed high up on values,” Allison said in an interview produced by Mercedes.

“I got that from my family background, I’ve been lucky to work with people like that.

“I do think that is a characteristic that marks out Lewis, he’s one of the oldest on the grid now, he still drives like one of the youngest.

“He, in a career of multiple championships and countless wins… you’ll struggle to find a moment on the track where you see Lewis do something ugly.

“You’ll see him do many, many breath-taking things, brave things, but you won’t see just crude dodgems, bumper car stuff, or any sort of artifice to the way he drives.

“I hope that he manages to keep this going for the remainder of his driving career because it’s an utterly unblemished record.

“I think amongst multiple World Champions it is unprecedented to have all that success without anything that has even a hint of a shadow of poor sportsmanship hanging over it and I think it’s impressive.”

Allison added that “the level of drive that Lewis has, indeed all these multiple World Champions have, is quite staggering.

“You can think you’re a driven person and then you bump into someone who really is and you realise you’re a middle of the road lackadaisical drifter by comparison.

“I do think there comes a time where the driver’s race craft is still incredibly strong but that last little extra special something that gives them the qualifying genius starts to slip through their fingers.

“The interesting thing with Lewis is that’s still very much with him and I think he’s blessed with extraordinary physical talents to go with this mental dedication that is quite freakish.”

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Reigning World Champion Lewis Hamilton says he hopes the world will emerge as a ‘kinder place’ once the current coronavirus pandemic comes to an end.

Formula 1 is on hiatus until July’s Austrian Grand Prix due to the outbreak and spread of the COVID-19 virus, which was declared as a pandemic in mid-March.

Billions of people worldwide have since been in various lockdowns, heavily restricting movement, which has led to the suspension of life as previously known.

Hamilton, 35, has previously used his social media platforms to express his views on issues such as the environment, animal cruelty, and child poverty.

On Monday the six-time World Champion urged his followers to reflect and emerge from the current lockdown in a brighter situation.

“I miss racing every day,” he wrote. “This is the first time since I was eight that I haven’t started a season.

“When you live and breathe something you love, when it’s gone there’s definitely a big void. But there’s always positives to take from these times.

“Right now, we all have time in the world to reflect on our life, our decisions, our goals, the people we have around us, our careers.

“Today, we see clearer skies all over the world, less animals being slaughtered for our pleasure simply because our demands are much lower and everyone staying in.

“Let’s not come back the same as we went into this tough time, let’s come out of it with better knowledge of our world, changing personal choices and habits.

“Let’s come out of this as a new us, a new reinvigorated you, fitter, healthier and more focused but above all, kinder, more generous and gracious and caring for our world and the people in it. I hope we all do.”

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Mercedes suffered its first substantial setback of pre-season testing after Lewis Hamilton’s programme was curtailed by an oil pressure anomaly on Thursday.

Hamilton, who took over from Valtteri Bottas for the afternoon session, did not appear for the first hour of running, and then completed only 14 laps in the W11 before the car stopped.

Hamilton’s W11 halted at Turn 6, bringing out the red flags, and his car was returned to the pit lane.

Mercedes confirmed that “we’ve experienced an oil pressure anomaly, which made the engine shut down as a precautionary measure.

“We’re further investigating the issue; unfortunately that means our running for today is done.”

Mercedes encountered a minor electrical issue last week while customer team Williams has had a handful of power unit issues through the test.

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