As we all know, June is Pride month, a time to raise awareness and talk about the LGBTQIA+ community. In recent years, motorsport has also joined the fight for queer rights through small gestures.
The words of Ben Sulayem
Last year, F1 also sided with the LGBTQ+ cause. The FIA president, Ben Sulayem, declared “I have always believed in sport as a catalyst for progress in society. Promoting sustainability, diversity and inclusion is a key priority of my mandate. Therefore, I support the activities of pilots who want to contribute to progress”.
The various initiatives
One of the most interesting initiatives kicked off this year in Melbourne. During the race weekend there was a Pride Hub pop-up as a recognition of the need to celebrate and support LGBTQIA+ motorsport professionals and create a dedicated space for the community.
Through talks and interactive sessions hosted, racegoers had the chance to learn about the contributions of LGBTQIA+ individuals.
Teams and drivers also took the message right on track and we can see this reflected on the liveries, such as the rainbow on the nose of the Alpine car. Standing out is seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who has always worn the rainbow, symbol of community, on his helmet even in unfriendly countries like Arabia and Qatar. This cause was also embraced by Sebastian Vettel when he was part of the circus.
All the teams managed to do something, some changing their logos and colouring them for the occasion by recalling the rainbow flag. Others like Scuderia Ferrari, whose motto is represented with #essereferrari,displayed it in a new colourful way as a mean to support and provide greater awareness of diversity and promote the inclusion of all genders and sexual orientations.
Very interesting is the birth of a real association called Racing Pride. It was developed to positively promote LGBTQ+ inclusiveness within the motorsport industry and among its technological and commercial partners like Aston Martin or Mercedes.
Small steps forward have been taken in recent years, but Sebastian Vettel said: ‘F1 goes fast on the track, but is still too slow on issues like feminism, environmentalism and LGBT rights. We can all do more’.
May this Pride 2024 be an opportunity to do more.
