Formula One to remove pre-race opportunity for drivers to take the knee

Lewis Hamilton will stop taking a knee at the front of the grid after Formula One bosses revealed they are removing the gesture.

Hamilton – and a number of his fellow 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.

The sport has instead vowed to build on the impact of the gesture – announcing on Tuesday that it will extend its funding commitment to the Formula One Engineering Scholarship programme for underrepresented groups until 2025 – and will carry on screening an anti-racism message ahead of every race.

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

“The [knee] gesture was important for the ones that believed that was an important gesture, because we need to respect everyone,” F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali told Sky Sports.

“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

It is understood that the 37-year-old – who all but confirmed he will return to the grid after recently ending his social media silence following last year’s controversial decider in Abu Dhabi – will still be allowed to kneel at another stage before the start of the race, possibly by his car.

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- F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali

Hamilton was a driving force in persuading Mercedes to paint his car black in a