Jüri Vips, Amaury Cordeel, Nikita Mazepin, Marcus Armstrong, Dan Ticktum, Liam Lawson. Said the n-word, drove like a maniac on a public road, allegedly sexually abused a girl and made homophobic jokes, used the n-word as a snapchat name, used ableist slurs, laughed about slurs. What is going on with these junior (some turned professional) racing drivers?
An environment of no accountability is what I think. Of the above drivers only two have actually experienced consequences. Though we can’t really tell what those consequences for Mazepin were since Haas did not want to say anything about the specifics and Mazepin was free to drive for the American team the entire season. Vips has been suspended by Red Bull. He was in their junior driver program. Red Bull, however, is usually not one to suspend drivers after saying slurs. We all remember Verstappen’s ableist slurs in Portugal 2020. The actual Mongolian government sent Red Bull’s leadership a letter, stating that the Dutch driver used “racist and unethical language” and urging the FIA to “take actions against Red Bull driver Max Verstappen for his unacceptable behaviour of repeatedly using racist and derogatory language against any ethnic groups”. Both Red Bull and the FIA did not take action.
It makes you wonder, why is Red Bull taking action against Vips now? Would they have done the same if it was Verstappen who said the slur in a Twitch stream? Personal guess, probably not. Had they taken action were Vips the new F2 star, destined for a spot on the F1 grid? Personal guess, much less likely. They should have. Taking action shows racism, ableism, homophobia or any other type of discrimination will not be tolerated. It’s a first step to making change.
Change doesn’t happen overnight. We can try, we can wish, we can hope. It won’t happen. Even if everyone is taken accountable for their actions, you can’t change what people do behind closed doors in one day. It’s not just young drivers that need to change the way they see the world too. There are many examples of ex-F1 drivers or other senior motorsport figures dismissing #WeRaceAsOne, or undermining Lewis Hamilton’s comments on equality. It’s also that one Red Bull employee who sent racist messages about Hamilton. He got caught, many didn’t, but I’m sure he’s not the only bigoted employee in the entire sport.
Initiatives are being created. Racing Pride, an organisation for LGBTQ+ people in motorsport, was founded in 2019. A year later, the Hamilton Commission was founded. The Commission published a report in 2021, and found that there is racist language being used in UK motorsport teams under the guise of ‘banter’. This week, McLaren F1 announced that they are working on initiatives aligned with the Hamilton Commission’s recommendations. This month, the FIA appointed Ukrainian Tanya Kutsenko as its first Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Advisor.
Racing Pride and the Hamilton Commission work with teams directly. The FIA can use a top-down approach to hold teams and bosses accountable. What can we, the fans, do? Keep calling them out. The fans made Red Bull aware of Vips’ language through social media. The fans called out Mazepin for months. Use your voice, use your group power.
Then maybe, just maybe, we’ll move to an environment that is open to everyone. An environment in which bigoted people are thrown out and a more diverse workforce takes its well-deserved place.