Monégasque race car driver Charles Leclerc, Belgian-Dutch driver Max Verstappen, Russian driver Daniil Kvyat, Spanish driver Carlos Sainz, Italian driver Antonio Giovinazzi and Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen have refused to "take a knee" in support of the Black Lives Matter movement ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix start.
The 20 drivers at the race have divided over the topic and were unable to reach a unanimous conclusion. However, they all have agreed to wear End Racism t-shirts when the pilots lined up at the front of the grid for the Austrian national anthem ahead of the race.
There you go - a mix of kneels and stands from drivers #F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/uBRhKry1fI
— Luke Smith (@LukeSmithF1) July 5, 2020
Photos and videos of the moment have been widely shared on social media networks, with netizens divided on the matter. Some of them supported the move, while other have condemned the pilots for not supporting the black American movement.
We fucking love those ones pic.twitter.com/9oiIDYkSNu
— Ky (@FiftyBucksss) July 5, 2020
The event is being held as amid the global protests against racism that have been sparked by the killing of black American former convict George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis. The demonstrators often kneel on one knee to honour all African-American lives lost to police violence in the United States.
