Grosjean apologises to Hamilton over F1 drivers' anti-racism efforts

Romain Grosjean has revealed he had a 45-minute phone call with reigning Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton following the Hungarian Grand Prix to discuss the sport's anti-racism message.

Following the race at the Hungaroring, Hamilton hit out at Grosjean and F1 for the “rushed” procedure where drivers arrived at the pre-race ceremony late, with some drivers taking 'the knee' and others opting not to do so.

Ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix, Grosjean - who is head of the GDPA (Grand Prix Drivers' Association) - revealed he has since cleared the air with Hamilton.

“It was a good chat with Lewis,” said Grosjean. “I said sorry, maybe I did it the wrong way, but I felt that I had to do it at the time.

"In the GPDA, we work on the majority vote system, and I felt that if I wasn't, as one of the directors, listening to the drivers who were not happy to carry on, I wasn't doing my duties.

“He [Hamilton] mentioned that as one of the directors they're listening to you, and that was his point, and I think he was right in that aspect.

“It was a really good phone call and I also said I wasn't very happy that the media [stories] came out, and on my social media there were a lot of things about racism and that I am a racist and whatsoever, which is absolutely wrong.

"I don't think you will find anyone in the world saying that I did something wrong in that aspect. So I wasn't very happy about being treated that way.

“I was one of the first ones to support, and to push, that we take the knee. I'm still hopeful that one day we will get 20 drivers to take the knee on the grid, and that it will happen at one point.”

Following the phone call, Grosjean has held talks with Liberty Media and the FIA over a more structured pre-race procedure, which he expects to happen at Silverstone this weekend.

“It's hard for us drivers to organise things over an event, because you know we've got many things to look at,” he added. “So we wanted more guidance from Liberty and a clear procedure, before the race, as we did in Austria race one.

“I think that's going to happen and that's going to be more clear for all of us to know exactly what to do.”