Hamilton "appreciative" of Grosjean after F1 anti-racism talks

Ahead of the Formula 1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Lewis Hamilton says he was impressed with Romain Grosjean after the pair's phone call last week.

On Thursday, the Haas driver revealed he had a 45-minute phone call with Hamilton following the Hungarian Grand Prix to discuss F1's anti-racism efforts.

Grosjean and the sport in general had come under criticism from Hamilton following the race in Hungary for its rushed pre-race procedure where some drivers either arrived late or didn't opt to take 'the knee'.

Reflecting on his phone call with the Frenchman, Hamilton was impressed with what Grosjean had to say and said the pair are on the same page with what they want to do as drivers to show their unity against racism and discrimination.

"I wasn't aware of that but I was already impressed with our conversation that we'd had afterwards and his approach to our conversation.

"He originally reached out to me to talk after the last race and so I gave him a call and we had this great conversation.

"I think ultimately it was quite informative for the both of us. We learned that we actually have more in common than we perhaps think.

"And he's clearly a caring person. So to hear that he's said that is... it's not easy firstly for anybody to admit that you're wrong. And that's a great first step.

"But the fact is when we got off the phone I knew that we were united and we're going to be working towards the same common goal.

"So I'm really appreciative to Romain. And that's really what it's going to take all of us to do - to really open up our minds, don't put barriers up, don't be defensive, be open minded and acknowledging that there is an issue.

"But obviously sometimes the first step [is key] and then [it's about] how can we work towards making it better."

Grosjean revealed yesterday that following his phone call with Hamilton, he had spoken to the FIA and Liberty Media regarding the pre-race ceremony with drivers now being given more time to get into position before the race.