 Hello and let's talk about Lewis Hamilton's historic 7th Formula 1 title victory. The Mercedes driver equal legend Michael Schumacher's record yesterday by winning the Turkish Grand Prix. Now, Lewis Hamilton won his first title in 2008 and he has been especially dominant in the field since 2017 when he has won four titles in a row. He is also the person with the highest number of individual race victories, that number currently stands at 94. And Lewis Hamilton is not just a star on the racing track, he's also been highlighting the black lives matter movement, taking a knee before races. He's also one of the few black racers in the field. And this is especially significant when we consider that racing as a sport is generally white dominated, even if you look at the NASCAR for instance in the United States. So we talked to News Clicks Leslie Xavier to find out more about Hamilton's career, the nature of the sport which is inherently biased in terms of race, in terms of social structure and the scene in India. Here is what he had to say. Thank you Leslie for joining us. So Lewis Hamilton winning a historic title and it's been quite a journey for him from his first victory in 2008. Of course, this is a year where sports really has not got its chance to shine so much, but this is really a great moment as far as global sport is concerned for a variety of reasons. So can you start by just reflecting on how at this point his victory is significant? The significance of Hamilton's seventh world title should be discussed taking into perspective what happened more than 10 years back in 2008 to be exact when he won his first world title. So there was an incident on the last lap of the Grand Prix and the race was getting over. Felipe Massa had already crossed the finish line and he was said to be the world champion because Hamilton was at that point sixth in the standings. Then suddenly, racer, Fimo Glock, who's race for Honda, he was struggling right through the lighter part of the race, he slowed down enough and Hamilton over to finish fifth and that one point extra was enough for him to get the world title. So the first, I mean historic moment, first, the only black racer in Formula 1 and the first Formula 1 world champion. But it was obviously overshadowed by the news that the title was more or less stolen from Massa in front of his own crowd that too and that conspiracy theories were there at that point, Hamilton's team, McLaren used to race for McLaren at that point and Honda were there in some kind of collusion and that's how this, I mean conspiracy theories basically. So everything was overshadowed from that historic moment where the sport had a beautiful narrative to build its legacy in the sense, build a new chapter in its legacy about integration of various races into racing. I like that pun, but that's not a reality if you look at racing as such. So in the longest period of Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton is the only black racer ever to race. A couple of Indians have raced and of course racers from Japan and East Asia, so to speak, they have also raced but very, very few and far between and Hamilton is the first world champion and Hamilton's journey is more or less a journey facing a lot of odds of him making it up there. So when he started, I mean, so just after his victory, he was quoted and he was talking about how when he was a young kid, when he was racing and he used to, his idol was Ayrton Senna and so, but on the track, he was so different from everybody else. So as a kid, you can imagine that. So you're out there and you are among all this, I mean, boys. And again, I would say boys because there is one problem with motorsport. Again, boom and I have very little space there. Right, right. Yeah, in news click, we have address that story. That's a different issue altogether. So among this, among these white boys, this is black boy. And then that thing, it's always competitive. It's very competitive and competitive on multi-levels because one is your talent, your ability to go past the other aspect, being your ability to garner sponsorships, get manufacturers to support you through various stages of your career. So it's ultra competitive. And then you are faced with this idea that whether you belong, it's not just your ability that's that's playing in your mind. So, so Hamilton did all this in his post race, post-victory talk, where he said that I, I mean, he used to doubt himself. It's obvious as a kid, you don't see anybody who looks like you. So where am I? That kind of a question was there always. And I feel it's still there with it. So in June, when the at the height of Black Lives Matter movement, movement happening and Hamilton took a knee after one of the races. And he was constantly being vocal about it and vocal and expressive about the protest and he was very critical saying that I'm just very upset that the entire racing fraternity, the stakeholders, the top stars, they don't show any inclination to stand up for this. This is something that is obviously wrong. So post-race now next year when races go to countries like Saudi Arabia, something that's a plan in formula one. So yes, he has again said that it's not just about fighting racism. It's also about fighting regimes which are doing wrong because it's the time to question these things now. So as it has become woke to all these matters, which are, which are, which are important to the world. Or maybe he was always woke. He just realized that seven world titles. Now no one can question him like they questioned in 2008. So that's that's the perspective that we want to, we would want to present that this man has proven his worth by winning those titles and proven his worth just not just to himself, but also the, the naysayers who say that black people are not involved in racing because they don't have it in their blood. That was the general saying that used to be there in U.S. in Europe across because you don't see black people racing. But it was because the system was working against them. And of course, in racing, that's the other sad part, that talent never alone sees you through the finish line, through the checkered flag. So that, that other aspects that you talk about around racing, which our Indians have also suffered. If you look at Narendra, you know, Karun Chando, who raced in Formula One or many other races who have raced in various cities. Narendra, for instance, he was considered very talented. Yes. In Formula Tree, he has beaten Jensen Button, who later became Formula One world champion. So very highly regarded driver. But just that he just didn't have that set up around him. He had sponsors. He had backing from big companies, big firms in India. But, and also India being an open market, Formula One was very keen to get into India, but still it just didn't fall into place. And so that those aspects are there, notwithstanding. Louis Hamilton to come out and win these seven titles. Equal record, which many consider was, was, cannot be equal. It's, it's, it's, it's a tremendous achievement. It's historic and significance goes beyond the sport. Right. Let's sort of come back to a point you were raising about the nature, the structure of Formula, Formula, car racing itself. Could you maybe talk a bit about that? Also keeping in mind, say, NASCAR, in terms of how, for instance, why is it that it is so largely a white sport, as opposed to earlier you were mentioning in many of the other sports in the United States? There has been a substantial role by black sports persons. Why does racing remain so out of the ordinary that way? So, racing NASCAR, again, we only have had a handful of drivers taking part in it in the races. And the same with Indie series, it happens to me. So it's, it's the if you look at baseball, for instance, it's again, there's a lot of black players in it. But the sport, unlike, for instance, basketball or pro football, baseball has a lot of white players. I mean, there are a lot of white stars as well. But if you look at basketball and football, it's it's it's predominantly dominated by by black superstars. So there is also a reason because baseball was one of the last professionals for to integrate black into the system to play. That happened in 1947, I believe. So racing and black races is a race in the US much before that. So there is a history of, again, it's it's not in the major organized races, which is under the ages of American automobile association, triple A, which was always racist. The but unorganized races used to happen across the US. And there were many, I mean, black races, pioneering black races who used to win races, who used to be regular in that circuit. And then there was a Colored Speedway Association, which was formed exclusively so that these black racers could showcase their talent and then make triple A, American automobile association, realize that because at that point, the predominant belief was that black people can't race. They can't drive fast. The racing is not in their blood like like I mentioned earlier. So to to I mean, kill that notion, the association was formed Colored Speedway Association and they started conducting races across and out of which two three superbly talented races came out as well. Just that as I mean, it's of course, at that point, this was pre World War II era and businesses, everything is centered around the white man. So obviously a Colored Racing Association can't survive financially. It was not it was close to impossible. So after 10 to 20 years of functioning, it just slowly declined and American automobile association didn't give them an helping hand to sustain it and slowly just died down. And after that, if you look at the history of American racing, it has always been dominated by white, white, white superstar races. No doubt, no doubt many of them were usually talented, great races. Some of them, in fact, crossed over to the to Europe to race against the European top races of Europe and racing big races like Lamar or Zebring. And so all these factors are there. There's no doubt. I'm not questioning the talent of white races here, but I'm just questioning the idea that you never set up the framework so that black races could come up into the system. So we I mentioned about Colored Speedway Association and some pioneering races in the US in 2017, 2018, 2020. Now, when Louis Hamilton wins his world title, we still call him a pioneer. So that that that shows the historic wrong. Oh, yeah, absolutely. Right. And let's see in this context quickly to come to India. Could you maybe talk about what's the situation with racing in India as well? Because many of these discussions, there is India presents its own set of challenges and problems and perspectives also. It's a let's put it very, very bluntly. It's a rich man sport in India. So that's a different kind of segregation. So there is a National Federation here, FMSC, a Federation of Motorsports Clubs of India. And there is national level competitions in formula cars, which is the smaller, less powerful formula cars, open wheel racing, the college. And there is also motorcycle racing on track and even rallies and stage rallies are also there. And rallies like the Ray Day Malia, which is the longer version, TST slash competitive stage rally. So. So the Motorsport Federation is active in its own functioning. I mean, barring the COVID restriction that has happened. But last weekend, in fact, one set of national championships began. It happened in Coimbatore at the Curry Motorspeedway. So India's race tracks, if you look at it, the tracks where racing could happen, we have three major tracks. The biggest one is Bootspeedway, Bootspotterspeedway in Greater Noida. Just that it's it's it can't be used by races that often. It's too expensive to get into it. And it's a vital event. It's too expensive to maintain in any case without Formula One and major international races happening. It was always difficult and three years of Formula One year. And then they just went out. It's a cut road business and money. It was not it was not helping. And also the fact that Greater Noida was not a place known for Motorsport. That it it it for it for some reason. And I mean, reason is obvious also that the automobile industry in the country was centered around South. So racing also started among the rich people in South. I mean, Vijay Malia was a pioneering racer in India. So yeah, so races happen all these national championships. Some of these manufacturers offer scholarships. So off late last four or five years, there have been instances where racers from from other demography. I mean, different social strata have come up and in motorcycle racing. Again, there is a huge difference in demography in motorcycle racing. It's the poorer section who aspire to come up because they have access to motorcycles and love to ride boys. Again, I mentioned boys because that disparity is there. Boys love to go fast. And many of them, at least in the in the time that I have covered Indian Motorsport very closely, that was the period from 2004 to around 2015 to 2016. Before that, and I suppose that my dissolution meant with the idea that motorsport is a great sport. Of course, it has its own distinct, but it just went off because of the kind of disparity and segregation and all this that happened, money aspect. And I mean, not necessarily racism in India, but money aspect and corruption and favoritism, et cetera. So motorcycle racing, getting back to motorcycle racing, there are racers who come from very poor background, who are mechanics and they set up their own bikes. They come into the racing thing and manufacturers like TVS or Yamaha or Honda or someone who would take the one, take the one, take them up. But beyond that, the sport is not going anywhere because to take it up to the to the international level, obviously, there needs to be larger factors involved, like I mentioned at the start when I mentioned Narendra Kartikey. So Narendra belongs to a very rich family in Coimbatore. And he also had strong backing from Tata, right through his career. But he just, I mean, that was not just enough. He couldn't secure a drive with, I mean, Formula One that way. Also, there are top teams. There are bottom teams. There's no way bottom teams can beat the top team. So that factor is there. And so the young racers who compete abroad now, most of them do Formula, Formula 3, British Formula 3, Formula 2. And beyond that, taking it up to the next level, it's next to impossible because of the money factor involved. Despite the idea that India is a pledging market for motorsport, there is huge potential and all that, this factor is there. So it's happening, but it's not exactly a mass sport. It's not exactly catered to allow everybody to participate in it. It's the costs involved are just too high for people to, I will say indulge in it because it's an indulgence. Right, absolutely. Thank you so much, Desi, for talking to us. That's all we have time for today. We'll be back tomorrow with more news from the country and the world. Until then, keep watching your slick.