'I'm not racist': Ferrari ace explains why he won't join F1 protest

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc has insisted he is ‘not racist’ and attempted to explain himself over his refusal to join in with the majority of the Formula One grid in taking a knee prior to each race.

Leclerc has been one of a minority of drivers to not join in with the symbolic gesture, which has been spearheaded by Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, the sport’s only black driver in its history.

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F1 drivers have joined athletes from sporting codes around the world in taking a knee to offer support to Black Lives Matter, as well as protest ongoing police brutality, particularly in the United States.

The 21-year-old defended his decision during a press conference prior to F1’s 70th anniversary race during a press conference prior to the first practice session, before later taking to Twitter to further explain himself.

“As I’ve said many times, I’m quite active on social media and I just do not accept to be called the way I’ve been called in the last few weeks — negatively obviously, just because of not kneeling.

“I just wanted to make a straightforward tweet just to express my feelings and that’s it.”

The controversy was sparked by an interview Leclerc did with Italian newspaper Gazzetto dello Sport, in which he partially attributed his decision not to kneel to the ‘violence’ associated with protests against widespread police brutality which were sparked after the death of George Floyd earlier in the year.

“I’m against racism, I fight it and I’m glad F1 is using its platform to show the world the right way,” Leclerc said.

“But I didn’t want to do that because there have been many protests all over the world associated with violence, and I don’t accept any form of violence.

“And I don’t like a civil protest to be used by politicians.”

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc explains stance on Twitter

The Ferrari superstar, who inked a long-term deal with the Italian manufacturer in 2019, took to Twitter after the press conference for further clarify his thoughts on the matter.

Leclerc insisted he fully supported F1’s anti-racism stance, saying he did not want to be draw into the politics of the issue.

“It is very sad to see how some people manipulate my words to make headlines making me sound like a racist,” he posted.

“I am not racist and I absolutely hate racism. Racism is disgusting,” he went on.

“Stop putting me in the same group as these disgusting people that are discriminating others because of their skin colour, religion or gender.

“I’m not part of them and I never will. I’ve always been respectful to everyone and that should be the standard in today’s world.

“And to whoever is using my image to promote their wrong ideas, please stop. I’m not into politics and I don’t want to be involved in that.”

Leclerc finished third in last weekend’s British Grand Prix, with the Silverstone circuit again the venue for this weekend’s race.