Formula One chiefs threaten Spain after Hamilton racism row
The Grand Prix-crazy country could pay a hefty price if abuse is repeated
Spectators in the crowd during pre-season testing in Barcelona abuse Lewis Hamilton
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Thomas Catan, of The Times, in Madrid
Spain has been threatened with the loss of its Formula One Grand Prix races following the racist abuse suffered by Lewis Hamilton at a Barcelona racetrack.
The motorsport’s governing body, FIA, said it was “surprised and disappointed" at the abuse handed out to the British racing driver. "An act of this kind is a clear breach of the principles enshrined in the FIA statutes, and any repetition will result in sanctions,” it added.
The Spanish Grand Prix is scheduled for April 27 at the Montmeló venue, where fans wearing black make-up and T-shirts reading “Hamilton’s Family” hurled racist insults at him at the weekend. Valencia hosts the European Grand Prix on August 24.
Hamilton, detested in Spain following his high-profile rivalry with former Spanish teammate Fernando Alonso, said he was
deeply saddened by the incident .
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“The truth is that I feel somewhat sad, I am in love with this country, and especially the city of Barcelona and this circuit, which is one of my three favourites,” the driver said. “The people in Spain have always been very warm with me, and even though I imagined what might happen it has not been pleasant.”
Spanish racing officials have vowed to beef-up security and eject any fans engaging in racial abuse in the future. “There is a lot at stake and we could lose a lot, which means we will not be tolerating this sort of behaviour at the Spanish Grand Prix,” said circuit director Ramón Praderas. “We consider this a very serious situation and we will be toughening up security measures.”
Spaniards have prided themselves on their open-minded attitudes since emerging from a four-decade dictatorship in the late 1970s. But a series of racist incidents – of which the abuse suffered by Hamilton is only the latest – have caused Spaniards to question whether they are really so tolerant after all.
In October, the country was shocked by a surveillance video from a Barcelona commuter train showing a drunken Spanish youth kicking a 16-year-old Ecuadorean girl in the face as he talked on his mobile phone. The shaven-headed youth, identified as Sergi Xavier M.M, was unapologetic when he was later tracked down by the media, saying that he had been drunk and could not be held responsible for his actions.
Spanish sport has also been hit by allegations of racism in recent years. The national football team was fined by FIFA in 2004 after Spanish fans made monkey noises at black players in the England team. The event came after the Spanish coach, Luis Aragonés, called France player Thierry Henry a “black shit”. He denied that his term was racist and refused to apologise.
Despite the perception abroad that Spain suffers from a serious problem with racism, the Spanish Government insists that there is little cause for concern.
“Spanish society does not show a racist tendency,” Estrella Rodríguez, the Government official charged with dealing with the issue, said after the attack on the Ecuadorean girl. “What happened in Barcelona is an isolated incident that cannot be tolerated, but the signs are that society is adapting to immigration in a mature way.“
Not everyone agrees with that assessment. The European Commission Against Racism, a network of pressure groups, said in a report that Spanish authorities were in denial about the existence of racism in the country. It charged the Socialist Government with “cowardice” in tackling the issue.