The F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone believes that the racism that has erupted in this sport over the past few weeks was just a one-off event.<\/p>\n
The racist insults hurled at Lewis Hamilton by Spanish fans during the recent tests in Barcelona, Spain, made the front pages of newspapers. The FIA has taken these events very seriously: It has threatened to remove the Grand Prix held in Spain from the official calendar and has launched an ‘anti-racism’ campaign in the motorsport world.<\/p>\n
But during an interview for BBC Radio, Ecclestone downplayed the situation, stating that the behavior of a minority of fans would not change the attitude of all the other spectators.<\/p>\n
\u00ab I don’t think it’s necessary, \u00bb said Ecclestone about the FIA’s ‘anti-racism’ plan.<\/p>\n
\u00ab All that the plan brings is to give attention to people who only seek that, special attention. \u00bb<\/p>\n
\u00ab I think the troublemakers in Barcelona are the same ones causing disturbances in football. I don’t think they’re fans, and I don’t believe they support Fernando Alonso in particular. This happened only once, there’s nothing to fear. \u00bb<\/p>\n
Ecclestone also believes that Hamilton will not be affected by what happened in Barcelona, particularly because the major figures in this sport mobilize quickly enough to condemn such behavior and move on.<\/p>\n
\u00ab I don’t think he is personally affected by his insults. He is smart enough to know that it’s all absurd, \u00bb he said.<\/p>\n
Speaking about Hamilton’s chances this 2008 season, Ecclestone added: \u00ab He had no pressure last year, but this year he is going to be under pressure and that’s the problem. \u00bb<\/p>\n
\u00ab But I think he will be able to live with this one and that he will hold up. He knows what he can do and what he cannot do. \u00bb<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone believes that the racism that has erupted in this sport over the past few weeks was just a one-off event. The racist insults hurled at Lewis Hamilton by Spanish fans during the recent tests in Barcelona, Spain, made the front pages of newspapers. The FIA has taken these events very […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":42642,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,1749],"tags":[75],"class_list":["post-26916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-f1","category-news","tag-autre-sport"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n