Lewis Hamilton: "Naomi is an ex-professional racing driver & totally qualified to give her opinion as part of the Sky team"; Naomi Schiff: "I love my job and won't let anyone turn down my ambition or passion because they are uncomfortable with the volume"
Wednesday 15 June 2022 09:21, UK
Lewis Hamilton says there is a "long way to go to change these attitudes" after the credentials of Sky Sports F1's Naomi Schiff were questioned by a Twitter user.
Schiff joined the Sky punditry team for the 2022 season as an analyst, and also co-hosts Any Driven Monday after race weekends on Sky Sports F1's YouTube channel.
The 28-year-old is a professional racing and stunt driver, and competed in the W Series back in 2019 before becoming the championship's Diversity and Inclusion Ambassador.
Having started karting at the age of 11, Schiff has raced in prototype, GT and single seater cars, winning the 2014 Clip Cup Asia Championship title, the 2018 KTM GT4 X-Bow Battle Championship title and taking second place in the 2018 ADAC Zurich 24 Hours Nurburgring.
A user on Twitter, however, questioned her qualifications to analyse racing, to which she replied with three yawning emojis.
Seven-time F1 world champion Hamilton then took to Twitter to insist Schiff is a "great asset" to the Sky team.
"Naomi is an ex-professional racing driver & totally qualified to give her opinion as part of the Sky team," Hamilton said.
"She's been a great asset since joining & we should welcome more representative broadcasting with open arms.
"Still have a long way to go to change these attitudes in sport."
Schiff went on to post a statement on Twitter, thanking those who supported her and urging people to use social media platforms in a positive manner.
"Thank you to everyone who has come to my defence. I appreciate all the love and support, none of you go unnoticed!" she said.
"Sadly the issue of online bullying, bashing, shaming etc. is one I don't believe is going anywhere anytime soon.
"Social media, in some cases, gives voices to individuals who don't deserve to be heard. So I encourage anyone reading this to not indulge in it or retaliate or seek revenge.
"Remember that your words do have impact and that therefore we should do something positive with these platforms and be kind to one another.
"Lastly, I love my job and won't let anyone turn down my ambition or passion because they are uncomfortable with the volume."
A Sky Sports F1 statement read: "Naomi has been an excellent addition to our award-winning F1 team. Her experiences as a driver and her passion for and expertise of the sport have been welcomed by millions of viewers so far this season. Hate won't win."
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