Racism reappears in F1

The British government has asked the Spanish authorities to take all possible and unimaginable measures to counter and combat the racist violence suffered by Lewis Hamilton via a Spanish site.

The same site gathers hundreds of disparaging comments about Hamilton as the 2008 season comes to an end in Brazil. The FIA and McLaren-Mercedes have condemned these reactions.

Even if the site has been closed, a British minister believes that the issue should be studied more thoroughly by the Spanish authorities.

Andy Burnham, British Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, explained his point of view to the newspaper The Guardian: « This is the race and the whole country will be behind Hamilton to support him. I am very concerned to see this racist violence spreading on the internet. Authorities must take appropriate measures to counter racism in sport. »

An article in the Guardian claims that the website at the heart of the controversy is owned by a New York-based advertising agency called TBWA. It is part of Omnicom, the largest media services group in the world.

TBWA represents major clients such as Absolut Vodka, Apple, Adidas, McDonald’s, Michelin, Sony PlayStation, and Singapore Airlines.

A spokesperson for the company told the Guardian that they will take appropriate measures once they have identified the person responsible for the site.

Jeremy Miller, spokesperson for TBWA added: « This is not something we tolerate as a society. »