FIA to launch anti-racism campaign

The FIA, Formula One's governing body, is to launch an anti-racism campaign in the wake of the abuse suffered by Lewis Hamilton at testing in Spain. The scheme will start at the Circuit de Catalunya, the venue for the Spanish GP, where Hamilton was targeted.

"The FIA was appalled by the scenes of racist abuse targeted at Lewis Hamilton," said an FIA spokesman. "Such behaviour runs counter to the fundamental principles of equality enshrined in the FIA's statutes."

Spain hosts two Grand Prix next season and the FIA threatened sanctions against them if steps were not taken to prevent a repeat of the racist abuse the 23-year-old McLaren driver endured. Everyone across motorsport will be invited to join the campaign.

"Formula One is a global, multi-cultural sport and has never encountered such scenes before and will not tolerate them in future," added the spokesman. "International motorsport can reach a huge global audience to send out positive messages of racial and sporting equality.

"We will be encouraging all those involved in motorsport to support our new campaign, from recent world champions to the next generation of potential champions at the grass roots of our sport."

The spokesman said all of motor sport's stakeholders will be encouraged to support the campaign, to be known as 'Racing against racism'. A spokeswoman for Mercedes-powered McLaren, Hamilton's team, said the British outfit will be backing the FIA initiative. bbc.co.uk