F1 does away with ‘We Race As One’ pre-race moment

The ‘We Race As One’ moment, which has been a part of Formula One’s pre-race build-up for the past two years, will be terminated in 2022.

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali stated that the sport plans to focus on action rather than gestures in order to promote diversity and other causes associated with ‘We Race As One.’
The project was initiated prior of the 2020 season’s opening race, which was postponed due to the Covid-19 outbreak. It was sparked in part by the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States following the death of George Floyd.

Prior to this year’s races, F1 will continue to run a video titled “We Race As One,” which will feature all 20 drivers. However, the pre-race ‘grid moment,’ which was traditionally used by drivers to make solidarity gestures such as kneeling, would no longer be held. At other times, they will be permitted to make similar motions.

Last year, the ‘End Racism’ theme of Formula 1’s pre-race gathering at the front of the grid was replaced with the ‘WeRaceAsOne’ program, which strives to improve the sport’s sustainability, diversity, and inclusion.
However, a group of drivers led by seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton took a knee during the ceremony to protest racial inequality. The pre-race rendition of the host country’s national anthem, which was introduced in 2014, will continue.

Mercedes has been informed of the anticipated alterations, according to RaceFans. Lewis Hamilton, the team’s driver, has consistently urged F1 to promote greater diversity and has formed his own commission to look into the matter.

Domenicali told Sky after revealing the revisions to ‘We Race As One’ for 2022 that F1 needed to move from “gesture to action.”

“We needed to make sure that what we did was important to show the intention of Formula 1 in things that were really important for the world,” Domenicali explained.

“Now the action is the focus on the diversity of our community, and this is the first step.”