Mercedes F1 team has used its famous three-pointed star logo in Pride colours for the Formula One races in Baku, Canada and will be seen once again at the British GP
Mercedes have used the new-look logo, which it is calling the Pride Star, on the nose of its car at races in Azerbaijan (June 12), Canada (June 19) and will use it once again in Great Britain (July 3) to raise awareness for Pride month and to “add their voices to the global celebration of the LGBTQ+ community”.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and teammate George Russell will have also displayed the Pride Star logo on their race helmets during the previous two races and will do it once again at Silverstone.
The reigning constructors’ champions said in a statement – “Displaying the Pride star represents a visual expression of our commitment to creating a more diverse and inclusive team. We firmly believe that promoting a culture in which our team members can freely express their personality and identity will result in a stronger and more performant team.”
Toto Wolff, CEO and Team Principal of the Mercedes F1 Team, said: “Before the start of this Formula One season, we made a commitment to use our global platform in Formula One to make a difference to the world around us through a carefully considered Diversity and Inclusion programme.”
“I am very proud of the work that has been done over the last few months to take an in-depth look at our practices, to assess our weaknesses and to develop a long-term plan and commitment to take the necessary actions and realise every advantage of becoming a more diverse team; this is the vision expressed by our new programme, Accelerate 25”, he further added.
Mercedes has used its car to highlight a social cause before. For the 2020 season, which was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the team switched from its normal silver livery to an all-black color scheme as part of a public pledge to improve diversity within the team and sport. The team retained the all-black scheme for 2021 before switching back to traditional silver for 2022.
Hamilton also carried Pride colours on his race helmet at races in Qatar and Saudi Arabia at the end of last year.
The team has since launched the Accelerate 25 diversity and inclusion program. Hamilton has pledged £20 million of his own money to form the Mission 44 charity. Both aim to improve diversity within Mercedes and Formula One in general.
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