F1 scraps taking the knee ahead of races, but will address injustices with a new action

• F1 will not continue with the knee bending ahead of races from 2022 onwards.

• Drivers like Lewis Hamilton used the action to put focus on social injustices.

• F1 confirmed that it has plans to address the injustices through other avenues.

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Lewis Hamilton will stop taking a knee at the front of the grid after Formula 1 bosses confirmed the removal of the gesture.

Hamilton - and several F1 drivers - have knelt ahead of every race for the past two seasons in a show of solidarity against racism. But F1 is set to pull the allocated slot from its pre-race schedule for the new season, which starts in Bahrain next month.

Instead, the sport vowed to build on the impact of the gesture - announcing on Tuesday (8 February) that it will extend its funding commitment to the Formula One Engineering Scholarship programme for underrepresented groups until 2025. The sport will continue screening an anti-racism message ahead of every race.

F1's 'We Race As One' branding will also be visible at each round.

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'Time to move on'

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali told Sky Sports: "The [knee] gesture was important for the ones that believed that was an important gesture because we need to respect everyone. But now is the time to move on and take some other action. The action is the focus on the diversity of our community, and this is the first step."

Hamilton, the sport's sole black driver, has been outspoken on the importance of taking a knee in the fight for equality.

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It is understood that the 37-year-old - who will return to the grid after recently