Lewis Hamilton unlikely to kneel during American anthem at F1’s US Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton has said he has no plan to join the protests that have been taking place across the US by kneeling during the national anthem before the US Grand Prix in Austin this weekend. The British driver, who could win his fourth world championship in Texas, had said he was considering making the gesture but insists that at the moment he is fully focused on winning the race.

Hamilton has expressed his support for the protests, which were instigated when the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat or knelt during the anthem at NFL games last year as a reaction to racial injustice and police brutality. Hamilton had said he had been thinking about joining the protest when on the grid in Austin but, while he reiterated his support for the cause, did not want to be distracted from his goal.

“There has been a lot of mention of it,” he said. “I know a lot of people in America, black and white people, so I get a good view of what is happening here and about the movement, which is pretty huge. I respect it highly. The movement that Kaepernick started is awesome and I am very much in support of it – but I am here to win. That is the top of my priority at the moment, so I am not really focused on anything else at the moment.”

Hamilton leads Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel by 59 points and can take the title in Austin if he finishes 16 points ahead of the German. Should Hamilton win the US Grand Prix, he will become world champion if Vettel finishes sixth or lower. If the 32-year-old finishes second, he will become world champion if Vettel finishes ninth or lower and Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas fails to win.

Should Hamilton take the title he will become Britain’s most successful driver, hence victory being his priority.

The US president, Donald Trump, denounced the anthem protests as unpatriotic and called on NFL franchises to fire or suspend players, and suggested fans should boycott matches.

However, Hamilton is concentrating only on the race: “I am not going to allow all the BS surrounding this topic to pull me down in striving to win this world title,” he said. “I’ve worked really hard to be where I am today and while I do have opinions and feeling towards the whole situation, at the moment I have no plans on doing anything.”

Hamilton has enjoyed a 73-point swing his favour in the five races since the summer break. He has won four. Vettel, in contrast, went out in a first-lap crash in Singapore, finished fourth in Malaysia and retired with a spark plug failure in Japan. Despite his advantage, Hamilton is taking nothing for granted, though.

“Sebastian has been a strong fighter all year,” he said. “He has had a few issues technically but the car is as good as it’s always been. I anticipate they will be very strong this weekend and for the next four races. I have to keep the pressure on, there is no reason to back out. I have to keep pushing forwards.”

Fernando Alonso announced in Austin that he will remain with McLaren for next season. He had been deeply unhappy with their underperforming Honda power unit for the past three seasons, has not won a race since 2013 and has scored only eight points this season. The team opting to switch to Renault engines for 2018 was crucial to his decision.

“McLaren has the technical resource and financial strength to be able to very quickly win races and world championships in F1,” he said. “Although the last few years have not been easy, we have never forgotten how to win and I believe we can achieve that again soon.”

His deal is understood to cover more than one year but with options for the future, although the 36-year-old did not give any further details.