Lewis Hamilton needs support from his fellow Formula 1 drivers to fill the gap left behind by Sebastian Vettel in championing human rights issues, says former McLaren head of communications Matt Bishop.
The pair have formed the cornerstone of the sport’s stands against injustice and have voiced vocal support for a multitude of social causes, in particular the LGBTQ+ community, during their time in F1.
With Vettel’s retirement at the end of last season, however, Hamilton has been left to lead from the front, particularly amid the sport’s powerbrokers moving to censor political protests on race weekends.
Ahead of this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix, Bishop – who helped create the Racing Pride organisation to support the LGBTQ+ community in motorsport – has called for the void to be filled in support of the Briton.
“[Vettel] absolutely saw Lewis as somebody who he could confide in, who he could seek counsel from,” he told Sky Sports.
“I think it was mutual. They both saw each other as somebody who ‘gets it’ in the same way. I’m not trying to criticise any of the other drivers by the way – I worked with many of them, and it takes all sorts to make a world.
“But I suppose I would now like some of the other drivers to consider whether they could perhaps fill the void Sebastian has vacated, because Lewis is a tiny bit on his own now.”
Bishop’s comments come after three-time world champion Nelson Piquet was last week fined £780,000 for racist and homophobic comments made about Hamilton during an interview from November 2021.
“The most important thing is that in Brazil that wrong was righted and I know he’s got to pay a big fine,” Bishop said.
“I assume he can afford it and I do hope, which presumably was the objective, that it will deter other people from speaking in such an appalling way moving forward.”