F1 News: Lewis Hamilton Warns Protestors Of Disrupting British Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton has warned the Just Stop Oil protestors against putting themselves in "harm's way" at the upcoming British Grand Prix.

British racing icon Lewis Hamilton has recently addressed the concerns regarding potential disruptions at the upcoming Silverstone race, particularly referencing the 'Just Stop Oil' group's track invasion at the 2022 British Grand Prix. 

“I welcome protesters… activists I mean. Always pushing positive change," Hamilton explained to

Motorsportweek.com

.

“We just don’t want to see them on track and putting themselves in harm's way. That sparks conversation, that sparks dialogue and it often, if done the right way, sparks change and we need more change.

Last year, during the opening lap of the race, members of 'Just Stop Oil' positioned themselves on the Wellington Straight. However, their actions were cut short by a sizeable collision involving Zhou Guanyu, leading to the red-flagging of the race before the vehicles reached the protestors.

The group's actions, while advocating for change, were broadly condemned due to the danger they posed to themselves, the drivers, and the marshals. Despite their recklessness, they escaped jail time after their court hearing this year. This group has been disrupting public events over the last year, a trend causing concerns about similar incidents at future racing events.

Hamilton's call to the activists is clear: he urges them to push for change without risking lives. The seven-time champion continued:

“We need to become more sustainable, we need to become more inclusive.

“There’s all these things we need to do more of and it’s moving at such a fast pace in the industry that sometimes some of those things fall off and they need to be sparked up again by conversation.

“I hope we don’t have the same scenario we had last race but I’m always supportive of peaceful protesters.”

As the British Grand Prix weekend scheduled for July 7-9 approaches, Hamilton echoes his support for peaceful protests. He hopes for no repeats of last year's dangerous incident. With his team, Mercedes, set to reveal upgrades at the circuit, Hamilton aims to improve their performance amid a challenging start to the 2023 campaign.