Hamilton, Mercedes F1 launch charitable initiative for diversity

The ‘Ignite’ initiative, worked on for several months and emerging from the Hamilton Commission’s report, will help bring a much wider pool of talent into the motorsport industry.

The charity is being funded jointly by Hamilton and Mercedes and will work closely with World Champion Mission 44’s personal foundation.

Commenting on the charity, Hamilton said, “Mercedes has long supported my drive to improve diversity and inclusion in the motorsport industry.

“I’m so excited that through Ignite we can formally work together to make this happen.

“Diverse workforces are not only more successful, but also the morally correct approach for any industry.

“The Hamilton Commission’s findings have provided us with a fantastic foundation to start our work with, and I am confident that Ignite will lead to real, tangible change in motorsport.

“For 15 years I have remained one of the few black employees in Formula 1 and I am proud that my work with Mercedes will change that for the better.”

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Mercedes boss Toto Wolff added: “I am delighted that we can finally talk about our plans for the Ignite initiative today.

“Since we announced our intention to start a joint project with Lewis at the beginning of the year, there has been a lot of work and discussion behind the scenes to refine our goals and our mission.

“Opening up motorsport and developing into a more diverse and inclusive team are fundamental values ​​of our team. Enjoy our fantastic sport.

“Ignite will complement our team’s Accelerate 25 program and we hope to see many more talent from underrepresented groups joining our team as well as careers in the broader motorsport industry through these platforms.”

Ignite will be working on a number of projects, including efforts to push black students into STEM subjects and providing financial assistance to talented and motivated students pursuing careers in motorsport but lacking the current resources.