Toto Wolff: 'Anti-racism drive motivating Lewis Hamilton to become greatest of all time'

"Lewis has always been at his best when fighting adversity, and the Black Lives Matter movement is close to his heart," said team principal Wolff.  "So, it certainly helps him in terms of motivation.

"I am always impressed with how Lewis develops every season. He gets better, in terms of his personality his driving, and that is really inspiring.

"As a man in his mid-thirties, he is able to show how you can develop as a personality, how you can improve your game, and how you can have interests outside of motor racing that make you stronger. He is a really, really good person."

Hamilton wore a Black Lives Matter T-shirt as he knelt ahead of the sixth round of the championship.

The Briton was joined by 12 drivers in performing the gesture, while seven, including Red Bull driver Max Verstappen and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, stood. All wore End Racism T-shirts.

Hamilton's Mercedes team have replaced their traditional silver livery with an all-black design to show their support for the anti-racism campaign, while Hamilton and team-mate Bottas are also wearing all-black overalls this term.

But the new-for-2020-suits did not sit well with Bottas in Sunday's scorching Spanish summer heat.

"These black overalls are f****** hot," complained the Finn over the team radio.

Bottas has not won since the opening round in Austria and is already 43 points behind Hamilton in the standings.