Mercedes have revealed the new black race suits Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas will wear as part of the team’s rebranding following the introduction of its ‘end racism’ livery.
The team announced on Monday it has changed the base colour of its livery from silver to black for this season as “a signal of the team’s commitment to fighting racism and discrimination in all its forms.”The W11s will carry the slogan ‘end racism’ on their roll hoops in addition to the branding of F1’s ‘#WeRaceAsOne’ pro-diversity campaign. Hamilton and Bottas will adapt their helmet designs to fit the team’s new livery.
Mercedes has also announced a programme to promote diversity and inclusion within its workforce, in which it says just 3% belong to minority ethnic groups.
Mercedes F1 non-executive chairman Markus Schaefer said: “In recent weeks, events around the world have reinforced the importance of continuing to fight against racism and all forms of discrimination.
“At Mercedes, we know that the strength of our organisation lies in the diversity of our people, and we are proud to be able to use one of our most prominent global platforms to signal our commitment to this fundamental principle of our society and our business.”
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ColdFly (@)
2nd July 2020, 9:46
How well did Merc do the last time they changed livery?
Germany 2019 I think it was.
RB13
2nd July 2020, 9:55
I remember in 2017 when Vettel led the championship for some time everyone drawing upon the fact he had never led the WDC at any point and failed to secure the championship in the same year.
Point being, dumb superstitions are just that. Anyone hoping Mercedes will falter due to a (fantastic looking) new livery are due for a massive dose of disappointment.
ColdFly (@)
2nd July 2020, 10:22
I remember in 2017 when I made a joke on this site and only be met with serious replies.
David BR (@david-br)
2nd July 2020, 16:06
@coldfly Jokes on the internet always carry a 50% risk of offending someone (and I don’t mean that in an ‘anti-snowflake’ sense). Just a basic law of the internet jungle. Please fell free to make one more than once every 3 years :oP
Hakk The Rack
3rd July 2020, 11:13
I think Lewis and Merc have won a Championship that year.
Jere (@jerejj)
2nd July 2020, 10:06
Black just doesn’t seem like Mercedes. Looking at that image feels very weird, nothing else.
Mark Thomson (@melthom)
2nd July 2020, 10:24
Rename the team “Hamiltons Fancy”. It’s getting ridiculous
RB13
2nd July 2020, 10:31
What’s ridiculous is white people getting bent out of shape over the change on Twitter and claiming it’s nothing to do with their own prejudices. I’m guessing you’re one of them.
Unless you have a stake in Daimler, you have no right to get annoyed at what they do with their property so bore off.
David BR (@david-br)
2nd July 2020, 16:07
RB13 +1
bob (@riptide)
2nd July 2020, 10:33
You prefer them having the rainbow? Maybe on the sides like McLaren?
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
2nd July 2020, 10:14
Even the photographer puts bottas behind Lewis.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
2nd July 2020, 10:21
@peartree I suspect they may have been photographed separately and edited together.
Oxnard (@montalvo)
2nd July 2020, 11:43
It’s not exactly a great promotional picture to promote equality.
synonymous
2nd July 2020, 13:39
There’s no equality there. There’s a number 1 and a number 2.
David BR (@david-br)
2nd July 2020, 16:12
@montalvo Maybe they wanted to show that Bottas (and the rest of the team) is backing Lewis on the BLM issue. But I actually agree spliced side by side would have been better and achieved the same point.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
3rd July 2020, 11:44
@keithcollantine Of course. just having a dig at mercedes but @montalvo I was not thinking of that.
ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
2nd July 2020, 10:27
They photoshop Lewis skin too much yet manage to make Bottas looks like a grumpy old man.
Kyorin
2nd July 2020, 10:50
I have no problem with the livery change on the car, but perhaps the money spent on the suits could have been donated to a charity instead. Perhaps they can auction off any of the original race suits that now won’t be used.
I’m not angry at all, but just think perhaps it’s an unnecessary expense, and if the money is available to do this, perhaps help others with that money instead.
The cause is just though, I’m not detracting from the cause at all.
bob (@riptide)
2nd July 2020, 10:58
You mean……https://www.bonhams.com/press_release/30272/
A lot of Hamilton’s old gear goes for auction or directly to his charities.
bob (@riptide)
2nd July 2020, 10:52
https://www.facebook.com/MercedesAMGF1/videos/270487244206587/
My Left Eye (@blik)
2nd July 2020, 10:57
So before the change they were obviously all racists……….if they weren’t, they’re just virtue signallers!
Martin
2nd July 2020, 19:29
No and no, 0 for 2! Way to go little buddy!
Steve Mitchell
2nd July 2020, 11:33
I just don’t get it. Aren’t they effectively dressing up as black people? Something that would have be shunned upon before?
I’m all with absolute equality, Morgan Freeman said it best about 12 months ago. Don’t call me a black man, I won’t call you a white man….lets just call each other men. (don’t remember the exact words, but words to that extent).
XMG (@)
2nd July 2020, 11:50
*takes black socks off*
Martin
2nd July 2020, 16:56
“I just don’t get it. Aren’t they effectively dressing up as black people?”
No. Wearing black clothes is not the same as dressing up as a black person god I can’t believe you need that explaining to you.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
2nd July 2020, 20:18
I believe you may be mistaking black clothes for blackface. (Especially since black clothes is more likely to be associated with a subculture or profession than an ethnic group, and the ethnic groups which are associated with black clothes are mostly not black).
JimG (@jimg)
2nd July 2020, 14:06
(Emphasis added).
I’m glad that they’re doing something, but the juxtaposition of these two paragraphs made me sigh.
Geo
2nd July 2020, 14:33
Surely it should be ‘the strength of our organisation lies in the skill of our people,”
Because ticking boxes for diversities sake is just as bad as none at all!
Imagine how that white person would feel who was the best engineer for a Merc job, missing out to the lesser skilled person with the ‘required’ skin tone….
That is exactly what sjw, virtue signallers are protesting against!
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
2nd July 2020, 20:20
Diversity tends to lead to a greater range of skills, especially creative skills. It’s also associated with less groupthink, and groupthink is hazardous to a F1 enterprise. Perhaps consider this before assuming.
David B
2nd July 2020, 18:12
This will definitely stop racism!
Robert
23rd October 2020, 10:21
I would imagine that Mercedes will only ever employ the best person for each and every job in that incredibly competitive sport which is totally correct, even if it does through up some very non PC looking yearly full team photos ;)