Schumacher hits back at racism criticism

Mick Schumacher says his stance about racism has been "misinterpreted".

Last week, the Haas rookie flirted with controversy by answering "no comment" when asked by La Stampa newspaper to talk about F1 and Lewis Hamilton’s political activism.

Some social media users lashed out at his silence on the highly-charged topic, prompting the son of F1 legend Michael Schumacher to respond on Twitter.

"I was recently misinterpreted after an interview on a question surrounding political activism," the 21-year-old said.

"Just to make one thing clear - I’m against any form of injustice and inequality, and support the fight against racism."

The Schumacher controversy comes after Formula 1 indicated that the pre-race kneeling gestures seen in 2020 may now end this season.

Seven time world champion Hamilton said on social media last Friday: "Last year, some of us took a knee in support of equality which I am proud of. My question is, what’s next?

"Change is still needed," he added.

At the same time, La Gazzetta dello Sport claims that 45 human rights associations have asked Hamilton to boycott this year’s inaugural Saudi Arabian GP.

On Sunday, Formula E teams were caught up in a missile attack launched by terrorists in the capital Riyadh.

"You have shown immense courage in your fight," the human rights groups reportedly told Hamilton in a letter.

"If the best F1 driver refuses to compete in Saudi Arabia, it could be of great help in convincing the country to finally change its conception of human rights."