Motorsports
The anti-war message from Bahrain’s Formula 1 drivers
F1 drivers laid a banner on the Bahrain tarmac wearing the same t-shirt that read ‘No to War’.
Formula 1 may be a completely antidiametric world in relation to Ukraine and the dramatic humanitarian crisis caused by the Russian invasion of the country in the early hours of February 24, but the sports drivers also wanted their message for the cessation of the send hostilities.
The foreheads of Formula 1 drivers are burning with a call for a truce and they all demonstrated this last night at the initiative of their federation (GPDA), ahead of the start – this morning – of the second and final three days of this year’s winter team testing in Shakir.
And although Lewis Hamilton and Kevin Magnussen from Mercedes and Haas respectively are missing from the photo, their absence does not express their displeasure but force majeure: Hamilton wrote on Instagram that his flight to Bahrain was delayed and he could not attend while Magnussen was on the way – since his deal with Haas had been announced just hours before.
We remind you that after the invasion of Ukraine, F1 broke the contract with the organizers of the Russian GP, which ran until 2025, and permanently canceled the race in Sochi.
The Haas group also ended their sponsorship deal with their main Russian sponsor, Uralkali, and Russian driver Nikita Mazepin (son of Uralkali owner Dmitry Mazepin), whom they replaced with the much more experienced Kevin Magnussen on the team after a year’s absence.
Sophia Jhon is a sports journalist and author. He has worked as a news editor for Sportish and is now a sport columnist for the same publication. Alberta’s professional interests lie largely in sports news, with an emphasis on English football. He has also written articles on other sporting topics.